(Women on Top in Tech is a series about Women Founders, CEOs, and Leaders in technology. It aims to amplify and bring to the fore diversity in leadership in technology.)
Shobhana Veeramani is the Quality Analyst Lead at Circles.Life, Asia’s first fully digital telco company. With no contract data focused on mobile plans, they bring a whole new experience to the digital consumer market. Their mission is to re-imagine the mobile experience for the digital consumer and to rewrite the multi-trillion global telco industry.
What makes you do what you do?
It’s just the passion in testing. For me, testing means building confidence in the products. Software testing is the most interesting job as it throws challenges to me every day. I get to stretch my mind to understand something in a different dimension. I have to find out how a software should and should not work, and prevent it from breaking the systems. I have to make sure the quality is at its best. Good quality means good products. Good products mean profit! This is the drive that keeps me growing.
How did you rise in the industry you are in?
There’s a say, hard work never fails but working smart is more necessary than just hard work. My critical, logical and analytical thinking helped me to keep growing. Having said that, there is still lot more for me to do and achieve. Keeping my goals high!.
Why did you take on this role/start this startup especially since this is perhaps a stretch or challenge for you (or viewed as one since you are not the usual leadership demographics)?
I began my career at a young age right just after I graduated from university. I remember my passion at the time was to travel around the globe and begin my IT journey. I ended up choosing Quality Assurance (QA) as my career path as I know I am not into coding that much, and pointing out mistakes is more fun than fixing them :).
I started my career at a consultancy for a stretch of years. This opportunity has given me an awareness of how the tech industry works around the world. I remember my dream came true when I was relocated to Belgium to work on a project for a virtual bank in Europe. At this point, I realized that my career choice seemed to be very thrilling because I got to see people using my piece of work in their daily lives.
The same fortune happened to me again when I got a call from Circles.Life – the first fully digital telco in the region. This innovation and the bold move was the main reason why I decided to join the company with only about 5 people in the team. I was part of the founding team and helping the company to prepare for the launch. Looking at how our customers’ satisfaction level has grown in the past years makes feel so proud! That’s my work right there! That’s how I add values to people’s lives. Our products, our hard work are all paid off!
Do you have a mentor that you look up to in your industries or did you look for one or how did that work?
I think everyone is my mentor. We always learn from each other. I also believe that failures are my best mentors. I am a firm believer that when you fail, you have to learn from it and fix it. Learning from mistakes has always worked for me – either it is your mistakes or others’.
Now as a leader how do you spot, develop, keep, grow and support your talent?
A good leader is the one who keeps on learning. Learning about your team, learning about the industry, and learning about the current trends.
You also have to have an open mind, and be able to receive feedback. Open communication is key. Lastly, find the holes that need to be filled in. This will give a good chemistry in the teamwork.
Do you consciously or unconsciously support diversity and why? Unity in diversity is going very well with us.
I consciously support diversity. Working in an inclusive culture is very important. Diversity creates more innovation and creativity.
What is your take on what it takes to be a great leader in your industry and as a general rule of thumb?
Great leaders are great listeners who are responsible for their own actions and inspires others by work.
Advice for others?
If you want to succeed in your career, you have to set the plan, focus on the objectives when executing it, and don’t forget to celebrate the result!
If you’d like to get in touch with Shobana Veeramani , please feel free to reach out to her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobana-veeramani-b3272868/
