Her Story
About Kalpana
I have been in IT for over 30 years, and about 10 months ago I took on a new role as Director for Emerging Technology. This is somewhat different from what I've done throughout my career. I was in technology engineering and operations roles, and this is more of an innovation and strategy role for a utility company. I took this up as an opportunity to do something different and to set the foundation for data and AI at the organization. In a typical day, I meet with business stakeholders to understand their pain points and opportunities. I ask them questions like, what is it that you have thought, I wish I didn't have to do this, I wish I had done this differently or better, I wish we eliminated this manual process entirely and optimized to do something else. Those questions prompt them to think, and they come back with ideas that help me think about how I can simplify, automate, eliminate, or leverage AI to transform how they do business. Looking back at my career, one of my biggest achievements was at my previous organization, a large Canadian bank, where we acquired another bank. I was managing the data platforms for the enterprise, and close to 3 petabytes of data was coming in with 2 million customers. It was a huge effort to ensure our platforms were sized right and to integrate the customers with our existing customer base. We did a lot of modernization, ensuring scalability and resiliency, and it was a seamless integration. I'm quite proud of that accomplishment.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kalpana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a lot of hard work and a positive attitude towards life in general. On the personal front, my supportive husband and family have been instrumental. I was also fortunate to have some good leaders who believed in me and gave me opportunities to learn and grow. That is why I give back now. I mentor so many students and early young professionals because there are many learnings that I had through the hard way, and I want to give them a leg up. Nobody has to learn it all by themselves through their whole entire lifetime. You can learn from other people as well.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
About 8 or 10 years ago, around 2014, one of my leaders offered me an opportunity that was not a step up, but a step sideways. The advice that leader gave me was that it's often good to go sideways and build that muscle before you go up one level. Career growth is not necessarily always going up. You can go sideways as opposed to going up. That is one thing I learned, and I picked on that and moved to that role.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say a few things. First, invest in your career and personal development, which I strongly believe in and continue to do. Second, networking is another aspect that I neglected early on, and I highly encourage young women professionals to do that early on. Third, have mentors, multiple mentors, not just at work but in your community, in your sports groups, wherever you are. You can find a leader there that you resonate with philosophically. It doesn't have to be any official mentorship, but having a conversation with those people, running things by them, any scenarios or dilemmas you have. Having different mentors at different times of your life helps. So networking, mentorship, and investing in your personal and career development are key.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In the utility industry, which is almost like a quasi-government, we have smaller teams and more work, so funding is a big challenge. We rely on public fundings, and we're non-profits. We don't run business for profit, so funding is a challenge. Keeping the lights on is one thing, but to innovate and do things differently and transform the business and all that good stuff, you need money.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is definitely one of the most important values to me, and I maintain it at all times. I stay true to my words. I don't sugarcoat things. When I walk into a new role, I try to understand the current state and reach out to my stakeholders and tell them, I understand this is not the ideal situation, and I also will say I won't be solving it overnight. Here is my plan. It takes time. I won't sugarcoat things. I am just transparent and deliver based on my commitments. That integrity is a big factor that I live and breathe with.
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