Articles
BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
Q: What led you to join the Green Leaf team?
A: I was a student at Penn State and when I graduated, my advisor connected me with the CIO of one of Green Leaf’s clients and with Kevin Bucher. After a panel where I shared my interests, projects, and internship experiences, I landed the role.
Q: What keeps you here?
A: The support of the Green Leaf team is what keeps me here. Colleagues like Kevin, Steve, Neil, Zul, Chuck, and Beth are not just friendly but genuinely supportive. They back my career goals, offer guidance, and encourage me to pursue certifications and new opportunities.
Q: What are your area(s) of specialty?
A: I specialize in data analytics and business analytics. Currently, I work as a QA data analyst for the CEO Scorecard team, using tools like SQL, Excel, and Power BI to test data. I’m also skilled at gathering requirements and managing project backlogs through Azure DevOps.
I also enjoy managing work and I hope to take on leadership roles in the future in project management.
Q: What aspects of technology are you most passionate about, and how do you see these aligning with your role at GL?
A: I’m passionate about data analytics and Power BI. In my current role, Power BI plays a huge part in delivering valuable insights to executives. I’m also excited about integrating AI into project management practices as it evolves.
ROLE AT GREEN LEAF
Q: How have you seen your role evolve and how do you see it continuing to evolve? What are the key contributions you aim to make?
A: My role is evolving as I work to transition from QA analyst to project management and business analysis. I’ve earned my ScrumMaster certification, which Kevin encouraged and am shadowing a project manager at my current client. I hope to move into a PMO role and continue expanding my leadership skills.
Q: Can you tell us about a personal philosophy or approach that guides your work in tech and in serving clients?
A: My personal philosophy is inclined towards ethics. I believe in keeping promises and being committed to my work. I value respect and collaboration with my team to solve problems quickly and effectively. Respecting each other’s work is essential for achieving the best results.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & LOOKING AHEAD
Q: In your opinion, what are the major trends that will shape the technology consulting industry in the next five years?
A: AI will have a huge impact across all industries, including tech consulting. With more data-driven decisions, companies will hire for more data focused roles and increasingly rely on data and dashboards like Power BI for real-time insights, shifting away from traditional PowerPoint presentations.
Q: What leadership qualities do you think are most important for driving innovation in the technology side of companies today?
A: Effective leadership requires clear long-term and short-term goals. Setting a vision and breaking it down into achievable steps, believing in your team, and ensuring sustainable solutions are crucial for fostering innovation.
Q: What’s a significant challenge in the tech space many are facing (or will soon be facing), and what, in your opinion, is a potential solution or approach to overcoming it?
A: The fear that AI will replace jobs is a common concern, but AI will not fully take over in the next few years. Human interaction is still necessary. The biggest challenge will be ensuring the accuracy and managing confusion around AI’s capabilities.
Q: With the rise of AI and data analytics, what ethical considerations do you believe tech leaders should prioritize?
A: Privacy and security are critical considerations. Data must be handled with care, especially sensitive information like insurance data. Tech leaders need to ensure both privacy and security are prioritized to protect against cyber threats.
Q: How do you stay updated with the rapid changes in technology, and how do you foresee the evolution of the tech consultant’s role?
A: I stay updated by reading tech blogs, watching YouTube tutorials, and keeping up with industry news. When I first learned Power BI in college, I used YouTube, and that hands-on learning approach continues to guide me.
Q: How do you tailor your advisory approach to help clients not just meet but exceed their technology goals?
A: I focus on testing KPIs and verifying data accuracy. When I identify discrepancies, I use quantitative analysis to back up my findings. I communicate with executives to explain the issue, helping them make informed decisions based on reliable data.
Q: What skills do you think will be most valuable for the technology workforce of the future, and how can professionals prepare now?
A: Data analytics, business analysis, and project management will be in high demand. Professionals should focus on gaining expertise in these areas, building strong communication skills, and preparing to take on roles like business analyst or project manager in data-driven environments.
PERSONAL: INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
Q: If you could have dinner with any figure from the world of technology, who would it be and why?
A: Sundar Pichai the CEO of Google. I want to pick his brain on how he spearheaded the invention of Google Maps; he was the project manager of Google Maps when it was being developed. I would also like to know how Gemini is different from AI tools that are out there and what things are they doing at Google to make it more accurate and how they are collecting data.
Q: What’s the one gadget or tech you can’t live without?
A: My cell phone. A mobile phone has everything and it’s important in my day-to-day life.
Q: Can you share a personal success story or a particularly memorable experience from your career? What made it special for you?
A: In my current project, sometime around end of 2023, I found that there were some steps in testing that we repeat every time and it was becoming a reoccurrence. So, while in excel, while you test the data, I thought we could automate it with Excel macros. With macros in Excel, you can record the steps you do and save it as a macro and then use it again and again whenever you want.
Since they were repetitive steps which had the same logic behind it and we had to do it every time while testing the data, I used macros ones and then automated it. So now for one particular step in our testing framework, I can just click a button and then it will calculate the numbers, the column totals, and it will also calculate certain KPIs. The team really liked the idea.
Before starting my career, I built a dashboard in Tableau, which is a data analytics and data visualization tool. I created a dashboard to present sales data of a hardware company. I had never built a dashboard before so that was a big accomplishment.
Q: Outside of work, what’s a hobby or activity you’re passionate about? How did you become involved in it and why is it important to you?
A: I am passionate about sports. I love to play cricket, which is widely played in India. Cricket has been an important part of my life and childhood. Even in college and now, I play in tournaments on the weekend and I love that I am able to continue to play.
I love going to the gym and working out, it clears my head and keeps me refreshed.