Striding Ahead Without the Fear of the Unknown Date:   Tuesday , December 29, 2009 In early 2003 Anuradha joined Subex, which had developed and marketed its first telecom product successfully, with 60-70 people in its engineering team, and was working on the second one. Today, seven years later, as the Senior Vice President of Engineering, Anuradha steers a 700 strong team and heads the development of all product lines in RMS (Revenue Maximization Solutions) and FAS (Fulfillment & Assurance Solutions) group at Subex, now one of the most well known product based company from India. With over two decades of experience in areas such as OSS, TMN, CTI, and VoIP, Anuradha, with her strong development and people-management skills, has been responsible for streamlining the development activities at Subex and is spearheading multiple new processes that ensure timely completion of developmental activities in the organization. “The growth has been very overwhelming with opportunities coming my way when I least expected them,” says Anuradha. But with her determination and timely guidance, she has successfully scaled all challenges and capitalized on the opportunities to reach this high point. Focused and smart she may be, ‘unconventional’ is the word that best describes this young executive. In-depth product development experience, experimenting roles, taking on new challenges, and proving her mettle reflects her 20 year career. The Initial Years Hailing from a simple family in Delhi, Anuradha completed her BE in UVC, Bangalore and earned her MS from Georgia University in the US. At a time when everyone preferred to settle down abroad with a plush job, Anuradha took the first opportunity to return to India and joined Texas Instruments as a developer. After a brief spell there she moved to another city and worked with Wipro and then moved back to Bangalore and joined Siemens Communications (now Nokia Seimens Network) in the telecom group. The seven year stint at Siemens proved to be a major turning point in her career. From hands-on engineering work to honing her managerial skills, all have found a foundation here. One of the most remarkable things that happened here was when, one fine morning just out of blue, she was bestowed upon the responsibility of a complete product line and leading a team of 70 people. “It was as if the lightning had struck me. Though the organization felt I was ready for such a role, I felt that I still lacked the experience to take over such a responsibility and postponed the same,” says Anuradha. She finally took over that responsibility a year later. Continuing her unconventional ways, Anuradha suddenly felt the need to explore something new, and seeing the services segment boom she decided to venture into it. In an era when working for a captive MNC in product development was what many wanted to try their hands on, here was a lady who, after nearly a decade of experience in hardcore product development, wanted to start all over again in the services segment with not much knowledge about it. Thus she joined a small company called Mistral and for two years was a part of the senior management trying to kick start a new services group. But unfortunately the telecom industry went bust at that time and not much success could be achieved. “This experience has been my greatest learning phase that made me reflect upon my skills and my future interest. Though I do not thoroughly regret my decision to try working in the services industry, I do occasionally think about what would have happened otherwise,” she says. It was then that she joined Subex and steadily moved up the echelons to reach where she stands today. Managing a team as big as 700 people has never been a challenge for Anuradha, who in fact thrives on challenges and risks. At the same time she believes that it is patience and understanding that helps you become a good manager. She constantly works on maintaining a positive environment and inculcating the right attitude in them. “Your approach to everything in life should be ‘I can tackle it.’ As long as you keep striving and, don’t fear anything in life, you will keep moving ahead of your peers,” she explains. She often feels that the young professionals today enter the industry with no clue about what is going on. “They either have a 30,000 feet view or a 30 feet view of it. What is required is a combination of both and it is important to the managers to have the view as well as to help bridge this gap.” She greatly attributes her success in her own career to the conviction that was instilled in her by others. Be it her father at home or her manger at Siemens. Her manager would often put her in rough waters hoping that she could swim through with her immovable confidence. “His confidence in me and his support have had a profound impact on me, making me realize what I am capable of.” Her husband has mentored her to have a balanced view and to take the tough situations calmly. Another mentor who has impacted her managerial skills is Subex CEO, Subash Menon whom she looks upon as the role model when it comes to personal effectiveness and also Subex COO Sudeesh Yezhuvath for his tenacious follow-through on tasks and for his understanding of people. So, what has been the driving factor in her life? Looking back she feels subconsciously perhaps the seeds of the passion for achieving something were sowed in her role as the eldest of the two daughters; she often heard people telling her parents about the lack of a son. A strong support and trust also came from her parents who brought up both their daughters with freedom and fearlessness and encouraged them to dream and realize it. “In fact, one of my main strengths is that I have no fear of the unknown”, say Anuradha. From learning karate (way back in 1985) to owning and riding a 100cc Suzuki in her college years, she did what girls then hardly even dreamt of. One of the things she remembers clearly is an incident during her college days when a few miscreants misbehaved with her and her friend. Instead of turning around and running away, she fought them and drove them away, though she too had to sport a black eye for a few days. Taking the strides in her life fearlessly, she says it is one’s attitude to look at things that decides the course of one’s life. “It is up to us if we see glass as half full or half empty,” she explains. Understanding the organization’s needs is important and one should work toward that. Just doing ‘one’s best’ is not the solution. But she is not ready to buy into the constant complaint about work-life balance. As she says, without work there is no life. One ought to set his or her priorities right and build a strong support system for themselves. In her own life she has had her mother-in-law who was there to support her during the ups and downs in her career, while simultaneously managing her home. “It is not easy I understand, but if you are passionate about working then there is nothing that can stop you from doing it,” Anuradha asserts. You know how ‘unconventional’ Anuradha is, when you ask her what other interests she has outside work. ‘Organic farming’, she says gleefully. Nurturing and growing healthy vegetables in her farm is her pastime, and it helps her to be in tune with nature and relieves all her stress, and reading is her other passion. Looking back, she has no regrets and says that she still goes through every new day with the same zeal and enthusiasm that she had on the first day of her career. Today, looking at her daughter she sees the reflection of herself in her and knows that her life has been worthwhile.