{"id":2499,"date":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/nischala-hfs_022025\/"},"modified":"2021-12-14T09:10:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T09:10:50","slug":"nischala-hfs_022025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/nischala-hfs_022025\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Nischala-land!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Many of you saw we recently hired the analyst industry’s first “storyteller”… and do we have some stories to tell!  Nischala Murthy Kaushik<\/a> has joined us to drive a crisp and enticing narrative for our industry during these turbulent times of change, which she will attempt to fit between her yoga and meditation sessions, and her amazing dinners with hubby Saurabh and young ladies Naisha and Tanishka. <\/p>\n

Nischala<\/span> will curate the HFS 2025 vision and values to the industry using her substantial social media presence – she was recently named among the Top 20 LinkedIn<\/span> Voices for India.<\/a> In addition to working closely with our research team, she is a blogger, thinker, and provocateur in<\/span> her own right including bylines in<\/span> Huffington Post and The Economic Times, with a strong focus on inclusion and diversity.  So let’s find out a bit more about HFS’ latest acquisition…<\/p>\n

Phil Fersht: Hi Nischala – we are extremely happy you have chosen to focus the next phase of your career with us.  But taking a step back, can you talk about your early years and why you chose a career in the IT services industry?  Was this the career you always wanted? <\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nischala Murthy Kaushik –<\/strong> Phil – Firstly, Thank you for being instrumental in my career shift. I look forward to working with you and the HFS team for the next phase of my career.<\/p>\n

Time travel into the past is always a nostalgic experience. As a kid, I aspired to walk down a new career path in line with the seasons – from a genetic researcher to a doctor, to starting my own business venture (my extended family has lots of doctors, entrepreneurs, and some both!), to being part of the fashion industry to competitive sports!<\/p>\n

However, the reality was that I have always excelled in Math and Science at school, and in India, one of the preferred career paths for kids who do well in these subjects tends to be around Engineering and Technology. In my case, there was a strong influence and a role model in my father – who studied at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) and went on to do his Ph.D. in the US. When he returned to India, he chose to work with TCS as one of its initial set of employees!  And since I had seen him walk down that career path, I naturally gravitated towards it.<\/p>\n

So my Engineering degree paved the way for a career in the IT services industry.  Once I started my professional journey, the penchant for ‘new and diverse experiences’ has fuelled my career taking me across the world to exciting and interesting destinations (US, Europe, India) for work assignments in strategy consulting, technology solution development and leading innovations. Over the past two decades, exposure to global companies, diverse cultures and work environments, different world views, and ways of working have shaped my career and outlook – giving me a holistic understanding of the IT industry.<\/p>\n

After more than two decades with Wipro, what do you feel have been your greatest accomplishments, Nischala, and how do you hope to take these experiences into the analyst industry with HFS?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been fortunate to play many varied and exciting roles, Phil, and each has been a great learning experience. I strongly subscribe to the mantra – After every 3 years, one should change your role, boss, team, or company! Along the way, I experienced many leadership shifts at the C-suite, multiple organization re-structuring, M&A (Merger & Acquisitions), financial\/economic lows to a global pandemic in 2020. Every experience has left me wiser with a lesson and two, and left a mark by leaving a white hair or two.<\/p>\n

Looking back, my top 3 favorite work assignments are below:<\/p>\n

Top on the list was the strategic consulting work I did at a global payments and technology company. This was exciting as I had the opportunity to create the roadmap around next-generation payment solutions and strategy. It is particularly memorable as the success of the program was pivoted on an executive leadership connect, which I anchored independently for a multi-million dollar engagement! At the end of my recommendation, the business leader looked me straight in the eye and said, “Where should I sign the cheque?” J<\/p>\n

Two is around blockchain market positioning – an emerging technology area, new to the industry and the company at the time. The opportunity to create and execute the GTM strategy and an integrated marketing campaign to create mind-share in the global ecosystem was challenging and exciting. From defining the solution offerings to winning the first customer deal to all the media\/press coverage to getting industry awards and analyst accolades, the entire journey has been memorable.<\/p>\n

Three is being part of a successful corporate intrapreneurship initiative. Being part of the innovation life cycle was a unique experience! It is terrific to start with a small nebulous idea and see the metamorphosis and emergence into a tangible solution. The process of creating something new is always unparalleled. <\/p>\n

So tell us, how do these experiences apply to the analyst industry, Nischala?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n