Here are some of my
takeaways from the sessions I attended.
"It is
important to be vocal about what you want to be" - said Kalavathi G V,
Head, Philips Innovation Campus, in her keynote address. She spoke about her
journey in technology, challenges and the single minded goal focus that has
helped her become what she is today.
"There is a big
shift in marketing because people are moving to online forums", said
Geetha Koushik, Director of Engineering, Gibraltar India. She said a lot of
marketing focus has shifted towards social media marketing, because that is
where the audience is.
"Have pride in
yourself and what you do, stay flexible, design your own idea of success, put
aside the 'good woman template' and don't feel less entitled to success" -
said Nirmala Menon, founder & CEO, Interweave consulting, in a highly energetic
and humorous talk.
One highlight of the
evening was a CXO panel discussion on what equality really means in the
technology ecosystem. Manjula Muthukrishnan (MD - Avalara India), Hari Vasudev
(Country Head & VP Technology, Walmart Labs), Atul Jalan (CEO & MD,
Manthan) and Vidya Laxman (Technology Director - Tesco) were the panelists in
conversation with Priya Chetty Rajagopal (Founder & Managing Partner,
Multiversal). "It's all about educating the girls and boys with
equality" - said Vidya, in a powerhouse exchange of thoughts.
As the evening set
in, the Plenary Hall got packed for the much awaited performance by Usha
Uthup. "You are never too old to
set another goal or dream a new dream", said the ever-young and fabulous
Usha Uthup, as she held us spellbound with her inspiring, peppy talk. This was
followed by her mesmerizing performance….a perfect evening that had the
audience clapping, cheering and a few dancing as well!
A fitting finale to
the day was witnessing and getting inspired by the awards given away to Women,
and Men in Technology. The categories were: Tech Beacon, Tech Exemplar,
Techinist (given to women who excel in technology), Solidarity idol and the
Equalizer (for a male sponsor who has driven gender equity and progressed women
in tech). Amazed to see the Techinist award recipient, Seema Nagar, who is an
Advisory Research Engineer in IBM and has 100 patents to her name!!!
Will this day be a game changer in my life? Too early to tell....but definitely a memorable one, with speakers who will inspire me forever!
