Our regular and long time listeners know that we dedicate the month of March every year for our special women guests.Welcome to the first special episode for March, 2025.In this episode, I am in conversation with Vidya Kabra, a Global Tech and QA leader with over 30 years of experience in the global IT industry.She talks about:  - Overcoming challenges from a traditional Marwadi family to pursue education and career.  - Early struggles with a startup due to lack of job opportunities in Maharashtra.  - Transition to corporate roles in Bangalore.  - Rapid growth from project management to leading quality for Toshiba worldwide.  - Challenges of managing family expectations and career aspirations.  - Importance of discipline, meditation, and effective time management.  - Utilizing domestic help and prioritizing quality time with children.  - Tips for women to communicate their career goals to family.  - Encouragement for women to pursue leadership and strategic roles in IT.  - Managing work from home vs. office dynamics.  - Creating a supportive home office environment.  - Leveraging work-from-home benefits for women in IT.  - How horizontal roles help in being more visible and enable Career Growth  - Encouragement for exploring various IT roles beyond development.  - Collaboration between developers and testers for improved quality.  - Career TipsVidya is a Global Tech and QA leader for around 30 years in IT industry driving Strategic Transformation at scale and Quality Automation for large Global Tech driven businesses at Wipro, Toshiba, Fiserv, HSBC, Intellect, Diebold Nixdorf. She thrived in new initiatives and reinvented herself multiple times - At Toshiba: Processes developed across functions. Looking at the simple and practical approach to process and management dashboards, she was given responsibility to lead Process management globally for Japan and Germany centers.  At Wipro: She led Global functions - 1) Process Simplification and audit Function with Lean and Agile techniques impacting 40 percent efforts saving 2) Engineering and Quality automation with 10X ROI globally for Wipro's 3000+ projects (2 patents filed on Quality engineering effectiveness). 3) Risk management function for 3 BUs.At Fiserv, Intellect Design Arena HSBC Core Banking , Diebold Nixdorf - Led Global Product and Process Quality Management, Audit & Delivery Excellence functions.All the functions and initiatives she led across above organizations resulted in sustainable quality in reduced efforts with happy and productive teams. Speed mentoring of teams for growth, Solution based practical approach to any problem and result oriented approach helped create high performing teams and functions.https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyakabra/

Sivaguru is in conversation with the serial author and colleague at PM Power, Paramu Kurumathur.They talk aboutThe trigger for the upcoming book is related to leadership.How this book builds on previous books but focuses on general leadership principles.The three aspects of leadership involving execution, business, and personal growth.Importance of reconciling leadership styles in different contexts.Holistic leadership that applies to both professional and personal contexts.Challenges and Solutions in Leadership:Handling conflicts and mediating between different opinions.Subordinating personal goals to team and organizational goals.Addressing behavioral expectations and public image as a leader.Thought Leadership:Book's Structure:About Paramuhttps://www.pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/parameswaran/https://www.linkedin.com/in/paramu-kurumathur-01489a6/Some related links on the book, for more details:Background and introduction to the book – 1Background and introduction to the book – 2Background and introduction to the book – 3Synopsis of the book – IntroductionSynopsis of the book – Leading BusinessSynopsis of the book – Leading ExecutionSynopsis of the book – Leading SelfSynopsis of the book – AIAdditional posts that could be of interest:Thoughts on Leadership – The Ashta Siddhis (eight super powers) of a leaderLeadership principles in the generative AI age

I am continuing this conversation with Rachana Shenoy, Engineering Leader HPE talks about balancing career growth, avid speaker and continuous learnerIn this part of the conversation, Rachana shares her stress and delivery pressures balancing it with employee engagement scores She shares some of the key techniques for budding managersCreating an environment of fun and accountability Embracing team members as a complete person rather than a skill or a resourceGen Z mindset doesn’t like to be a follower and being a digital native - they need ability to channelize the reusability, validation and clean code principlesThankful for the amount of support that was available from enterprise firmsExtremely passionate about art, decor and that helps me to balance the profession and advocates strongly to have a passion projectRachana Shenoy is a Seasoned Engineering leader with over 18 years of Industry experience, currently working in the Hybrid Cloud Division at Hewlett Packard enterprise. In her current role she leads development teams for both On Prem and SaaS based Cloud Native Enterprise Scale Storage Management Solutions. Rachana is passionate about building self driven and motivated teams , enabling them to build innovative solutions addressing critical customer needs.Rachana has extensive experience in Domains like Storage, Server, Cloud, Distributed, Enterprise software development. Rachana is also a DEI evangelist and DEI Champion and has been contributing to various Diversity and Inclusion initiatives within and outside the organization. She is also an active member of Lean In Women In Tech community , and believes in paying it forward through community events and activities. In her free time Rachana loves to dabble in creative pursuits and is a passionate artist, crafter and art educator. She is also an avid traveler and loves to explore different places, diverse culture and cuisine.Rachana can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachana-shenoy-4014116a/

Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Rachana Shenoy, Engineering Leader HPE talks about balancing career growth, avid speaker and continuous learnerIn this part of the conversation, Started engineering as a natural choice due to the love of MathematicsStart at HP in the compiler and felt extremely overwhelmed and quickly found the mentor network She contrasts that with industry ready team members nowJoined EMC in their storage management solutions understanding interoperability of OS and hardware and had an organic growth to management Ownership and accountability and stakeholder management were key skills that she mentors every person.Change is the only constant thing around the roadmap, org structure and ensuring that fluidity needs to be embraced in a large enterprise organizationRachana shares tips and techniques on how leadership skills are imbibed through the career like clear communication, empathize with peopleRachana shares her tips on utilization of her time commuting within the Bengaluru for about 25 kmsShares how she’s managing her balance using support system including her father in-law and team members that can be trustedRachana shares her decision while working in EMC during a particular acquisition and reflections that made her strongerRachana Shenoy is a Seasoned Engineering leader with over 18 years of Industry experience, currently working in the Hybrid Cloud Division at Hewlett Packard enterprise. In her current role she leads development teams for both On Prem and SaaS based Cloud Native Enterprise Scale Storage Management Solutions. Rachana is passionate about building self driven and motivated teams , enabling them to build innovative solutions addressing critical customer needs.Rachana has extensive experience in Domains like Storage, Server, Cloud, Distributed, Enterprise software development. Rachana is also a DEI evangelist and DEI Champion and has been contributing to various Diversity and Inclusion initiatives within and outside the organization. She is also an active member of Lean In Women In Tech community , and believes in paying it forward through community events and activities. In her free time Rachana loves to dabble in creative pursuits and is a passionate artist, crafter and art educator. She is also an avid traveller and loves to explore different places, diverse culture and cuisine.Rachana can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachana-shenoy-4014116a/

I continue my conversation with Hikari Senju, Founder and CEO of Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.In this part of the conversation, Hikari talks about:The need to focus on his customers - the advertisers’ needsAdapting to new technologies and standards such as cookieless futureThe inspiration to start his current company OmnekyBuilding and nurturing a high-performing teamHis advice for aspiring software professionalsHikari Senju is a computer science graduate from Harvard University with a passion for technology and design.He founded his first startup, QuickHelp, an on-demand tutoring app, which he later sold to Yup.com and became their Head of Growth.During his time at Yup.com, Senju observed inefficiencies in content spending and the potential of AI in advertising, which inspired him to establish Omneky in 2018.Senju’s background in computer science, entrepreneurship, and his experience with AI technologies led him to create Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hikari-senju-63780199/

I am in conversation with Hikari Senju, Founder and CEO of Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.In this part of the conversation, Hikari talks aboutHis background and how the influence of one of his uncles got him interested in computersHis serial entrepreneurship arc, with two successful startups and in his third ventureHis learnings from this experience on the importance of leadership, value brought by incubators, working on two sided markets, aspects related to personalization and privacyHikari Senju is a computer science graduate from Harvard University with a passion for technology and design.He founded his first startup, QuickHelp, an on-demand tutoring app, which he later sold to Yup.com and became their Head of Growth.During his time at Yup.com, Senju observed inefficiencies in content spending and the potential of AI in advertising, which inspired him to establish Omneky in 2018.Senju’s background in computer science, entrepreneurship, and his experience with AI technologies led him to create Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hikari-senju-63780199/

I continue my conversation with David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv. I asked David about how he thinks AI based approaches are likely to impact the customer experience.He shares how this can be used as a powerful tool to improve customer experience.He also talks about his new venture ContentLion that helps companies centralize and manage their contentHe touches upon aspects of data security and privacyHe shares his personal practices and some tips that help him stay focused and centered while also helping manage time.David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv, is a trailblazer in customer experience innovation. With over 25 years in the industry, he's transformed insights into substantial revenue for 500+ clients. A Harvard cum laude Engineering graduate, David's leadership has earned Motiv a spot on the Inc 5000 list. As president of The Entrepreneur's Association in Austin, he's dedicated to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Beyond business, he's a devoted husband of 19 years and a passionate coach for his son's robotics team.More information about David can be found at Web site, https://www.davidqewinq.com , Motiv's website, https://motivcx.com  Linked In at Linkedin.com/in/davidgewing Listen on!

I am in conversation with David G Ewing, CEO of Motiv. In this first part of the conversation, David talks about:His initial days in Detroit, where he grew upMeeting the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison and how that influenced some of his later decisions in choosing the area of workWhen building solutions, how and why technology under the hood has to be invisible, while focusing primarily on the user experienceUsing the customer journey mapping technique to better understand customer experiencesThe importance of the team being empathetic to customersListen on!I asked him about how he thinks some of the AI based approaches are likely to impact the customer experience.The answer to that and a lot more interesting topics in the next part of our conversation - in the next episode.Do not miss it.David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv, is a trailblazer in customer experience innovation. With over 25 years in the industry, he's transformed insights into substantial revenue for 500+ clients. A Harvard cum laude Engineering graduate, David's leadership has earned Motiv a spot on the Inc 5000 list. As president of The Entrepreneur's Association in Austin, he's dedicated to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Beyond business, he's a devoted husband of 19 years and a passionate coach for his son's robotics team.More information about David can be found at his web site, https://www.davidqewinq.com , Motiv's website, https://motivcx.com  or on Linked In at Linkedin.com/in/davidgewing

I continue my conversation with Gorkem Ercan, founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.In this part of the conversation, Gorkem talks about:Time Management and Prioritization:for both personal and team work.Using visual tools like lists and boards to track and prioritize contributions.Acknowledging that priorities are constantly evolving and require continuous adjustment.The importance of Giving Back and Open Source Sustainability:Finding immense satisfaction in seeing his projects used by millions.Emphasizing the importance of economic sustainability for open source projects.Why Companies should consider how they can support the projects they rely on.Highlighting the misconception that open source is always "free" and the risks associated with this.Frustrations with Open Source:Unrealistic expectations from companies who demand immediate fixes from contributors.Security concerns and the lack of focus on secure supply chain practices in some projects.Resource constraints for open source projects in implementing and maintaining security measures.Work-Life Balance:Initially viewed open source contributions as a hobby, similar to other leisure activities.Acknowledges that open source contributions can be time-consuming and require careful consideration of work-life balance.Encouragement for Newcomers:Invites listeners to contribute to the kitops.ml project, which is supported by JozuEncourages contributions in various forms, including code, documentation, and moreGorkem Ercan is a founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.Gorkem is the creator of the wildly popular Eclipse JDT language server and vscode-java extension, as well as the YAML Language server and vscode-yaml extension. He is a committer on various projects, including Eclipse Che, Eclipse Theia and Apache Cordova. Gorkem is a member of the Eclipse Architecture Council, and he is one of the longest-serving Eclipse commiters.LinkedInl:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorkemercan/Website:https://jozu.com/link to the kitops.ml open source project https://kitops.ml/

I am in conversation with Gorkem Ercan, founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.In this conversation, Gorkem talks about:Gorkem's Background:Early interest in computersDiscovering open source while at university and starting to read other people’s code.Beginning to contribute to open source projects and eventually published his ownSubsequent roles at Nokia and Red Hat involved significant open source work.He also shares Tips for Newcomers to Open Source:Being welcoming and patient, starting small, being prepared for asynchronous feedback.Keep an open mind, not gettng discouraged by rejection.Essential skills: Proficiency with Git and GitHub, understanding of community interaction platforms.His tips for Reviewing code:Functionality: Ensure the code works as intended and is bug-free.Style and consistency: Check if the code aligns with the project's coding style.Impact: Consider the potential impact on operations, users, and documentation.Clear communication: Include clear and concise commit messages.Gorkem Ercan is a founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.Gorkem is the creator of the wildly popular Eclipse JDT language server and vscode-java extension, as well as the YAML Language server and vscode-yaml extension. He is a committer on various projects, including Eclipse Che, Eclipse Theia and Apache Cordova. Gorkem is a member of the Eclipse Architecture Council, and he is one of the longest-serving Eclipse commiters.LinkedInl:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorkemercan/Website:https://jozu.com/link to the kitops.ml open source project https://kitops.ml/