To seek,find and impart Date:   Monday , December 31, 2007 In 1982, a young girl named P.H Vijaya Deepti walked into the office of TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) Bombay with her Mechanical Engineering degree certificate to join its Computer Consultancy division as a trainee engineer. In those days, TCS was more into solutions development and bureau services and Deepti was one of the four candidates who were picked up from the college campus for the first time. Walking into the office with both aspirations and apprehensions, she didn’t know that 25 years later she would rise to become the Vice President, Delivery Centre Head, Insurance and Utility domain to lead more than 2000 people in TCS, India’s biggest software company. In the 25 years of her career, she has not only seen and been a part of growth of the TCS, but also has seen the IT industry in India blooming. In his remark at her successful completion of 25 years, S.Ramadorai, MD and CEO of TCS said, “she is a role model”. Reflecting on her journey she says, “The road was tough, there were no models to emulate or imitate in the industry”. However there was a huge opportunity to learn and the whole journey was marked with moments of learning, Challenges, which she always loved, gave her an opportunity to learn and grow. Having worked during the first year in the Quantitative Methods Group which handled IT deployment for customers who had executed large and complex infrastructure programs using techniques such as PERT/CPM, Deepti moved to Bangalore in 1984 when the strength at Bangalore was less than five. This gave her a chance to explore the functional side as well as the market opportunities. “At that time the industry itself was nascent and we were exploring both the domestic and overseas markets”. By this time she was married, and had a small daughter. TCS also had diversified into management consulting and software development. During this time Deepti spent a year and a half in California as a Business Analyst for the project of an insurance company. She was the first Indian woman to travel to this location from TCS. An interest to venture into new pastures is intertwined with her zest for learning. Hence, after coming back from California she got involved in the quality assurance activities in TCS which was working for ISO implementation. After the successful implementation of ISO, she started getting involved in bigger projects. “During those days software engineering processes were not so well defined as they are today and there were hardly any books to refer to,” says Deepti. She becomes nostalgic when she explains how she and her team used to catch hold of the few available books on software engineering processes that covered pilot deployments, developing process standards and preparing training materials. She went on to become the Associate Consultant handling multiple projects. In 1997, at the beginning of the Y2K boom time, TCS started its first Offshore Development Center (ODC) in Bangalore for a client in the financial services sector and Deepti became the ODC Manager. Further more, she deployed the Business Excellence Model at Account Level for the first time which became an organizational best practice. She also spearheaded the Six Sigma initiative at TCS Bangalore in 2002. When TCS, Bangalore decided to set up the insurance vertical in 2006, Deepti was chosen to head the vertical. Today she is the Vice President, Delivery Centre Head, Insurance and Utilities. From technical to functional and to organizational development, Deepti switches roles with ease and elegance. “I like to experiment with new and varied things and make it a point to take up new roles and functional areas every 2 years”. Variety characterizes her career journey. While chasing the big picture, it is her sound management capabilities in addition to her excellent technical and functional knowledge that helped her. She has under her a diverse set of software engineers, project managers, and team leads and it is the most wanted team in TCS and has the lowest rate of attrition. Not surprisingly, she spends a lot of time with each team member when he or she first joins so that the members get an understanding of the team, the work, and also the culture. A firm believer in continuous learning and trying out new things, she inculcates the same quality in her team as well. She believes that each person has his own strengths and weaknesses, but if one is sufficiently motivated he or she can really excel. “Over the last decade, the IT landscape has vastly changed,” observes Deepti. Every project is different and offers new opportunities, she explains. Hence, she urges the young techies to keep focused on technology, constantly updating their knowledge, spending time in understanding the nuances, and delving into the intricacies of technology. She says that techies often make the mistake of confining their interests to a particular area. However she cautions that only a broader perspective will help them to climb the organizational ladder easily. Moreover, when the techies grow to become leads and architects they tend to stop updating themselves thinking they no longer need to be abreast with latest innovations. She says that this is a dangerous trend. “Even at my level, I keep updating myself constantly,” Deepti says. A quick learner who brings passion and fervour to whatever she does, Deepti is also a smart teacher. She has been recognized as the Best Faculty in TCS more than once for her ability to train employees. The Best Auditor Award also came her way as she was involved in many auditing activities of the company as a part of quality initiatives. Deepti is a voracious reader who likes to read books on management, leadership, and innovation amongst others. She also loves gardening and takes time to indulge in it often. Her laughter fills the room frequently during the conversation, betraying the zeal, enthusiasm, and energy of a teenager still fill her mind. Like Ulysses the sailor, who believed in ‘to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield’, Deepti continues her quest for success and pursuit of knowledge unbridled and undaunted. Name Designation P.H.Vijaya Deepthi Vice-President, Delivery Centre Head Insurance & Utility, Tata Consultancy Services Qualification Mechanical Engineering Joined TCS 1982 Designations Held Trainee Engineer, System Analyst, Sr.System Analyst, Consultant, Principal Consultant, Vice President Career span 25 years Career Milestones First woman to travel to the U.S. for a long term project from TCS, Best faculty award and Best Auditor award from TCS