Shashi Kiran, chief marketing and product officer at Aryaka, which delivers fully managed, end-to-end global SD-WAN service for the cloud-first era tells IoT Now’s Jeremy Cowan how travelling influences planning and directing marketing strategies.
IoT Now: As a child what job did you want to have when you grew up?
Shashi Kiran: I remember someone gifted me a telescope when I was a child and I spent countless hours looking at the night sky. My earliest career aspirations were to become an astronomer and discover a new star! Later on in high school I recall being fascinated by atomic physics and wanting to do something there. Looking back it’s funny that my childhood interests appeared to swing between the massive and the microscopic. They’re hobbies now.
IoT Now: If you had one business lesson to share with your younger self what would it be?
Shashi Kiran: Learn what someone’s strength is quickly. Magic happens if you have a team with people playing to their strengths. A great fist is never made with same-sized fingers.
IoT Now: Without naming and shaming, tell us about your worst ever boss.
Shashi Kiran: I’ve been fortunate to have great bosses that brought out the best in me. I still lean on many of them for mentoring. The worst I had was an insecure boss who said one thing to your face and another behind your back and was always trying to play team members against each other. This cause a lot of churn on the team. I still hold this person as an example of what not to do as a leader.
IoT Now: Which Internet of Things (IoT) use case has recently fired your imagination?
Shashi Kiran: I’ve seen several IoT use-cases, and developed business cases for many of them but the one I personally got fired up was when I got a chance to test fly a drone for a site survey.
IoT Now: What has been your most memorable business travel experience?
Shashi Kiran: I love ancient cultures and when time permits I try and venture out of the commercial tourist circuit and backpack, particularly when I visit Europe, Asia or the Middle East. Travel brings humility and broader perspective for business decisions.
Shashi Kiran, chief marketing and product officer at Aryaka was talking to Jeremy Cowan IoT Now’s editorial director
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