Her Story
About Anjali
I started my career in 1995 with an engineering degree in electronics from India, working in the R&D department of a leading TV manufacturing company building PCBs, working with capacitors, resistors, and screen brightness and sound. Two years into it, when IT was booming, I switched careers after educating myself on programming languages and was selected into Tata Consultancy Services, one of the leading IT consulting companies in India. From there, I traveled all over the world to the UK, Taiwan, and the US, and I never looked back. I rose through the ranks from C and Unix developer to IT development, IT management, account management, and overall IT strategic program management. I spent about 11 years at AT&T, where I was director of the emerging technologies group, leading a catalyst initiative with 8 different companies across the globe including Microsoft, ServiceNow, Orange in France, Telefonica in Spain, and IT providers like Infosys, Amdocs, and Prodap. We created a conglomeration to build a catalyst solution that was awarded first prize in the business growth category at Digital Transformation Copenhagen in 2023. In November of last year, I joined Yonex USA as VP, Head of IT, where I manage the digital transformation involving a brand new ERP, B2B platform, warehouse management system, and SAP Concur, as well as the KTLO operations that keep the lights on. I see myself as an enabler and an accelerator, removing roadblocks and furthering the cause of the business as Yonex grows into new markets. What drew me to this role was my family's passion for tennis and badminton, and the opportunity to make a real difference in helping a premium brand grow in the US market.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Anjali
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it is being very clear about always looking out to see how I can alleviate problems or be helpful to my stakeholders. I always look for what the person in front of me, what was their pain point, how could my skills help alleviate that problem or ease or remove it. So to understand their issues, their concerns, and then how my skills could help them. That mindset is what has made the big difference. It's always that North Star that I want to be an enabler and an accelerator. And from there, you get onto the specifics and see how best. I think I'm also a people's person, so that has also helped, whether it's my team, whether it's my peers, seniors, clients, or stakeholders. I've been able to make a big difference, even in my current role in just 6 months, because of that. I have direct contact with the president and all of that because they see the value. It's just basically I'm trying to be an accelerator and an enabler.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I strongly think that women need to know that they can do it. That would be my most important thing, is to have that confidence and reach out to others when you are hesitant, when you're unsure, when you're not confident, but always have faith in yourself, believe in yourself. Oftentimes through my journey, I was the only woman in the room, in big conference rooms with only men, but it never deterred me, only because I knew what I was capable of and I was comfortable in my skin, to just offer what I had. And every time you frame this in terms of the other person's problem, context, issues, and see how you can be an enabler, the focus for folks who feel pressured and things like that, I think that can be something that'll help them, that make it about them and not yourself.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.