Her confident walk and welcoming smile, you will never miss. There is power and fortitude in all her deeds that you will never fail to notice, even in a crowd. But, there is much more to this charm than one can see at a glance. A philanthropist, an angel investor, a mentor, and more; while leading Western Digital’s dexterous talent pool as Head of Human Resources. The behind-the-scenes of Kiranmai Pendyala’s life can be summed in a word – Meraki – doing something with soul, happiness, and love – by putting herself into whatever she’s doing, be it a profession, passion, or purpose.

Marching forward with the mantra of making the world a better place, Kiranmai has been pushing fear out of the window, taking risks, and facing life head-on. With the manifestation of a workplace where people go back home with a smile, a society where there is happiness, and a country where there is growth and wealth, Kiranmai is striving to contribute her best part as a citizen.

As a person with a high degree of managerial capabilities, Kiranmai always focuses on motivating the team and providing open opportunities for the employees to rise and shine. Today, while the world is confronting the tantrums and gremlins thrown by the pandemic, she is acting much faster to support the employees on one hand and to give back to the community on the other.

Appreciating the different facets of Kiranmai’s accomplished life, Women Entrepreneur India engages an exclusive conversation with her. Below are the highlights of the interview:

Walk Us Through The Success Story Of Your Journey So Far. What Drives You Personally And Professionally?

Everybody has a different definition for the success phase of their life. At this point, I look at my current stage in three dimensions. First is my profession or the leadership forte. The second facet where lies my maximum passion is social development. The third aspect is being an angel investor and mentors for start-ups. I feel that these three elements are most important because they shape the country, economy, and society.

Apart from this, there is family and values from where I derive all the strength and energy to work on the factors I mentioned earlier.

Tell Us About Your Early Years Of Life And How Did Your Childhood Shape Your Multifaceted Purpose?

I strongly believe that what I’m today is because of all the diverse influences I had in my childhood. I hail from a family where my maternal grandparents were extremely religious, traditional, and connected to the society or community. It is a family bestowed with a lot of wealth; actively involved in helping people as well. This is where I gained my fundamental value and it has become a part of my DNA. Whereas, my paternal grandfather who was the first to graduate from his village, was completely sold on education. He comes from very humble beginnings and pursued his education through great hardships.

So, I grew up in a family where on one hand there is wealth, authority, and elite zamindari respect in the society, and on the other hand, there is egalitarianism, equality, and education.

“Quintessence of kiranmai’s leadership is impact, influence, and inspire”

Imagine a child growing up amidst these juxtaposed ideologies. Obviously, the influences shaped me as a child and gave me the discerning ability to understand diversity at a very early stage. It slowly helped me become a person who lends a hand to the less privileged. It is from my family that I take my inspiration to shape the character, caliber, future of an individual, and give back to the community. I also embrace the profound words of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, ‘the essence of a happy life and a peaceful society lies in one sentence - what can I give?’

What Are Some Important Features And Expertise A Business Leader Should Have?

I recall a quote that goes like ‘A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. This completely resonates with the values I live by, and honestly, confidence, courage, and compassion are the three C’s which personally helped me as a leader.

This apart, I completely believe that integrity is the bedrock of effective leadership. We should have principles/ethics, and the tone of any organization you are leading should also demonstrate those ethics.

What Are The Key Factors Of Your Prior Experience That Are Still A Part Of Your Approach To Leadership?

My career journey began as a Professor and enjoyed shaping students’ lives and careers. As a teacher, I was learning more each day from the young generation. I was somehow exposed to the IT industry and corporate trends and got an opportunity to work as a consultant. It was back then in the mid-90s when IT had just begun to surge in India.

Initially, I felt reluctant but when I entered the industry, I began understanding my potential. I was able to scale the manpower from 200 to 5000 in a span of 5 years. As one of the core members, I was actively involved in both cost-cutting and organizational transformation. For instance, we had a 12-week training program for our people, which was a huge cost to the company in terms of time, effort, and more. We were able to redesign the program with the same quality output and deliverables within a 4-week time. In my journey in the service-based industry, I started looking into business and client problems, understood skill demand, and how to translate those observations into strategies and policies. My focus was to come up with creative solutions to add to the bottom line from a talent perspective.

Subsequently, I joined a product-based company – AMD. While competing against the giant Intel, we witnessed a terrible loss phase. Our stock dropped to $1 and people thought that we will go bankrupt. As a corporate vice president overseeing more than 30 plus countries, I was bold enough to keep everything transparent with our employees. It was a do-or-die situation, and we chose to embrace the red. I learned to face every risk head-on. While I left AMD to take care of my child, the company had already bounced back multifold.

Another highlight was being the first hire for The Intercontinental Exchange in India. I was part of building the Indian operations right from the scratch. Throughout the 3+ decades, I have observed tremendous growth within myself and the organizations I have worked with.

What Would Your Advice Be To Young Women And Girls Who Also Aspire To Become Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs In The Future?

From Kalpana Chawla- an astronaut, IndraNooyi- Ex-President of Pepsi-Co to Nirmala Sitharaman- Finance Minister, women have made a mark in every field. Nonetheless, we still have very few women role models. Even today, a large part of India is rural, uneducated, and illiterate; with biased guiding principles on how they raise a boy versus a girl. When these girls come out to work, they will face a lot of inferiority complex and self-doubt. I would just ask them to have self-belief and confidence because they are unique and have their own strengths. Go ahead, quest for your identity, express independence, and chase your goals.