Leaders

The world is moving very fast towards digitization and therefore it has become crucial for every enterprise to adopt the latest technology to keep themselves alive in the market. Nivasoft, a global new-age technology firm, enables companies to stay current and future-proof by turning digital. Under the leadership of Radha R, Nivasoft leverages the power of the Open Innovation Service Model to enable their customers to access new-age digital solutions, best-in-class products, and services from across the globe, in a cost-effective way.

Radha R completed her Bachelor of Engineering from Madras University in 2003 and soon after her graduation, she joined Infosys Technologies. She moved to the US and spent seven years working there before she decided to come back to India to start up on her own. After working with organizations like Cognizant, Accenture, Sapient, and Wipro, currently, she heads the digital business at Nivasoft.

Radha R engages in an exclusive interaction with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine.

Tell us about the various responsibilities you shoulder as the Head of Digital for Nivasoft. What are your current focus areas in terms of driving growth for the firm?

As the head of digital business at Nivasoft, I am responsible for pretty much managing the overall business and different verticals of Nivasoft including Digital Services, Digital Upskilling, and Tech Staffing, I am also accountable for P&L management, customer acquisition, business development, overall business success, and growth.

At Nivasoft, we offer Application Services, Digital Upskilling, and Staffing Services in Salesforce, SAP, Cybersecurity, and Data Analytics. Currently, our focus is to expand our business more into the US market both for our digital services and digital upskilling verticals. Our mission is to address the growing global digital skill gap between the market and the Job-Ready skills expected by the hiring companies, specifically in the areas of Salesforce, Cybersecurity, and Data Analytics.

Tell us about the most critical business challenges you face in your current role and how you overcome them.

The most critical challenge we faced initially was Covid because for a year almost during 2020 the business situation was very bleak. Still, we used that time to build our brand, and strengthen our offering and capabilities. My next critical challenge was to build a capable second-level team to delegate most of the daily activities so that I could focus more on business development and client interfacing/ relationships.

From a business standpoint, our biggest challenge was to differentiate ourselves in this overcrowded digital services space. That’s where my prior technology experience and the network/relationships built over the years during my corporate career helped me get the initial first set of customers, with whom I could make mistakes, learn the business, and establish my initial success stories.

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been the driving force behind your success as a professional?

I would say that the driving force behind my professional success was actually my inherent passion to learn new things, experiment with different roles, take risks with a leap of faith, tackle challenges head-on, improvise every day, and finally my attitude to take this all as a game. I would say that my global exposure, entrepreneurial experience, and a few key mentors shaped my professional journey largely.

"Take your career seriously, go through the ups and downs, balance work and family and never give up"

My largest growth milestones happened when I took the risk of disturbing the status quo and tried out new ventures & job roles multiple times with absolutely no prior experience in them. In a career spanning two decades, I was part of two start-up ventures and in my corporate career, at an early stage moved from a technical role to business consulting and then over time into program management, solution architecture, presales, business development, and product management roles seamlessly, all of which gave me a well-rounded experience needed to manage a business as a leader. In retrospect I think, I was working to learn to become an entrepreneur.

How do you foresee the Indian digital landscape evolving going forward? What steps do you take to align yourself with the periodic shifts in your respective industry?

India is at the cusp of growth in the digital space and covid has accelerated the pace and adoption of digital technologies in India. India’s digital economy is targeted to become worth $1 trillion by 2025 and the productivity unlocked by the digital economy would create about 65 million new jobs requiring functional digital skills by 2025.

Coming from a technology consulting background, there has always been a strong impetus to understand and stay on top of both industry trends as well as technology disruptions caused by emerging tech. Market research, competition study, analyst reports, white papers, technology publications & forums, and industry/technology events largely help us to stay abreast of the latest trends, network with thought leaders and explore new opportunities.

What would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders in the future?

Coming from a conservative background – access & freedom to pursue education and a career for a girl child was something that had to be hard-earned and fought for. My main input to them would be to be financially independent and not give up a career under the pressure of society or family. It’s ok to slow down, and take breaks but it’s essential for women to be self-reliant, stand on their own feet to be heard, to be mattered, to be respected. Next would be to develop a professional network and have a few key mentors, and sounding boards who can provide career guidance and open doors/opportunities at times of need Even today, Society& families are not very kind to career-oriented women, and hence, it’s imperative for us women leaders to lift-up other women wherever we get an opportunity and do our bit towards building women empowerment in the country.

Radha R, Head of Digital, Nivasoft

Radha R completed her Bachelor of Engineering from Madras University in 2003, her executive program in general management at IIMB during 2013-14, and then completed the executive program in management at MIT Sloan in 2018-19 specializing in digital, innovation, and entrepreneurship

Awards & Recognitions:

Most Valuable Player and Spotlight awards in Corporate, Class Representative, Gold Medalist in College and School

Hobbies & Interests:

Gym – workouts & running, Dog Lover – Mom to 2 year old golden retriever Simba, Music, Movies, Gardening, Travel.

A business leader you admire:

Indra Nooyi, Sundar Pichai, and Ratan Tata.