Building for the future
After a remarkable journey in technology over the past two decades—from Sun Microsystems to Cisco to Symantec, to, most recently, the best suspension company in the world (FOX) where I served as the CIO, I reflected on the past 7 months at Uber, leading Business Operations for Uber Metal - the foundational facet of the infrastructure leveraged across the riders, the partners and the customer base we all know.
Last month, I spoke with an innovation panel consisting of Luis Vera, Chairman VadaBing, Suhas Mehta, Product Leader Falkonry, Kit Colbert, CTO VMware and Bennett Wetch, VP Technology Innovation, Fair Trade alongside some of the brightest minds in the world from University of Cambridge, Judge School of Business.
While sitting with my fellow panelists, I took a moment to reflect on my career in technology. It felt like only yesterday I started my first internship @ Sun Microsystems where I was part of a team that trained over 3,000 users across the globe on a new platform. I was fortunate to have a seasoned executive Ann Wondolowski as my first technology leader, and an executive sponsor such as Michaele James . The steps taken and career transitions to follow seemed like it flew by in a blink of eye.
Fast forwarding the clock 20+ years later...now, I’m asking my peers, leaders and network .. how are we working to continue to cultivate new opportunities and roles for new college graduates and interns alike? How are we working with individuals early in their career (i.e. grade school, high school, college or postgraduate) to get the next generation of leaders to succeed us in building the next piece of the complex puzzle that we call “the digital age?”
For me, I’ve been lecturing in technology and business classes, bridging the gap between technology and education. As we gear up to welcome the class of 2018 to the workforce and start the summer season of interns, how are we going to help the next generation of leaders progress in a remarkable industry on their way to building a great career and doing great things?
Founder | CEO | Chief Nerd
3 个月Anoop, thanks for sharing!
Office Managing Director-Southern California
6 年Reflection is a powerful tool and you are using? it to better others!!? Thank You
Protective Services, Intelligence & Insider Risk @ Anthropic
6 年Sounds like you are enjoying your new position. ?Enjoy and be safe.?
Healthcare Solutions Executive
6 年Good to hear your perspectives Anoop, as always. One thought I would add is the need for institutions to make it a common practice to proactively connect the ecosystem of people that are tied to that institution to the benefit of all involved. For instance, UCLA, my undergraduate school, has organized an upcoming event where alumni are invited to listen to undergraduate students explain their research projects and provide feedback and guidance. This is one of several types of methods the university uses to help existing, younger students learn from experienced alumni. I applaud this approach as there are so many bright people out there who never get asked to help the next generation. Rather, if we do help at all in this regard, it is through a laborious process of researching opportunities and making inquiries on how you may or may not gain access to connecting with applicable younger people. I think institutions should help make this process a lot easier by proactively organizing learning events, coaching opportunities, and mentoring relationships. The UCLA example I provided can be applied not only schools (alumni and students) but to businesses as well (current and retired workers). This doesn't happen enough!
CIO, Renew Financial
6 年Thank you, Anoop. I knew you'd "go" places!!! Can't believe it was 20 years ago.