What's your background?
I was born and grew up in Chittaranjan, West Bengal, India. I am always motivated by any good stories if there’s a logical start and end to it. The love for finding logic in everything triggers my interest in Mathematics and that’s one subject that never upsets me in any of my exams. I am also a Martial artist (Black Belt) and a South Asian Gold Medallist at the age of 10. Representing India in the International championship at such a young age brings in motivation of representation and leadership and I always enjoyed leadership and mentorship throughout my career. I started my career with TCS in 2010 and moved into a Sales and Leadership role in 2012. I am always chosen to present technical solutions to different customers worldwide and had to travel many countries across Europe, UK, America, Middle East & Asia Pacific for such presentations. This has given me significant exposure to experiencing different cultures and that how different countries are unique in their own ways and picking up multiple languages to a certain extent like Japanese, German, French, Nynorsk, etc.
I joined Wipro, India in 2018 and moved to Australia in April 2019. Wipro has given me a wide exposure in dealing with market-leading and niche technologies and that has contributed to a huge learning experience so far. I am also engaged with several Non-Profit organizations in Victoria Australia such as Vic ICT for Women, etc and participate in mentoring and empowering women in IT.
What's your job about?
Wipro Limited is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. I am a Practice Sales Leader of Cloud and Infrastructure Team at A&NZ and I am responsible for generating new business around Cloud and Infrastructure services for new customers as well as existing customers. I also drive IT Strategy & Business consulting with regards to Merger, Acquisition, and IT separation for targeted customers. My aim is to understand customers' diverse, specific business needs and apply product knowledge to meet those needs while ensuring the quality of service by developing a thorough and detailed knowledge of technical specifications and other features of employers' systems and processes.
Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
Yes. I wanted to work in the IT industry and was always inspired to be a Sales Leader and participate in Organization’s growth. What truly excites me in the Sales stream is I can work with different IT Leaders and collaborate to achieve their goals, and solve their problems, thereby learn the best practices, they are following and leverage the same for my organisation’s growth. It’s not about forcing other people to buy things they don’t want to. Also, the day in a life in sales compliments my hobbies to meet different people and like talk with them - if I can make sales while travelling and meeting different people, that’s the best place for me.
What is most rewarding about your job?
The best part of my job is continuous learning. I need to be aware of the latest service offerings and product launches associated with Cloud, AI OPs and other IT services and that drives a constant learning path. Also, the day in a life in sales compliments my hobbies to meet different people and like talk with them - if I can make sales while travelling and meeting different people, that’s the best place for me.
What were some of the challenges you faced in getting to where you are now?
The key challenge in Sales leadership is work-Life balance. It's not a 9x5 job with documented responsibilities but dynamic and flexible. While there are days with extended working hours; there are days with limited working hours as well. While it's not a limitation for me as I prefer a more dynamic and flexible work environment and working hours, there are people who prefer a more stable and static work environment with a fixed working window & Sales may not be the right career path to pursue them.
3 pieces of advice for you would give women who want to work in your industry?