Santosh Mailarpwar: The Fireman of IT
A superhuman is someone who possesses the skills and powers that far surpass any ordinary being. Here at Tech Mahindra, we call him Santosh Mailarpwar. Why? Whenever there is a project that requires someone to put out an unexpected fire, Santosh has always been there to Rise to the challenge and fearlessly douse the flames.
Here’s what we learnt about Santosh and his unique, fearless work ethic:
Every Code Red is a Hidden Opportunity to Learn
Santosh perceives dire straits as an opportunity to learn from and come out stronger. Every project he has managed has always Stabilised and enhanced over time no matter the crisis. There was one such incident or project where Santosh had to resolve a critical delivery issue within 72 hours or lose the client entirely.
Never afraid, Santosh worked around finding the source of the problem. As a true collaborative challenger, he spotted a gap in the coordination attempts and immediately worked towards fixing this – stabilising his first code red account within the first few weeks!
Desperate Times Call for Creative Measures
Santosh’s greatest accomplishment comes from carrying out one of the largest
transformation initiatives for one of our biggest clients. The client struggled to prioritise which transformative initiative to invest in to drive down costs. Santosh realised that it was due to their lack of planning and tremendous budget deficit. They had invested a lot but were not getting a good return.
Santosh deployed a two-parter resolution mechanism. His team started off by finding solutions that would help them cut redundant costs without impacting the quality and delivery of critical deliverables. This approach was followed by providing strategic recommendations to the client and setting different priorities for transformative initiatives.
Advice for Budding Techies
The roots of his collaborative spirit lie in his sociable persona. While on his daily morning walk, Santosh utilises this time to connect with his offshore teams. Another key to his success is being in touch with his spiritual side.
"There is a saying that an intellectually curious mind picks up information like a sponge. Having a strong technical foundation will set you up with guaranteed success for the next multiple decades. I think technology will drive the future, and my advice to all the TechMighties and newcomers in the industry would be to remain a student and keep learning if you want to succeed."
The tech industry is full of visionary leaders which makes Santosh very confident about the future of IT. According to him, transformative initiatives have taken the centerstage post the pandemic and will continue to grow. Be it via cloudification, data and analytics, AI or ML, transformation is bringing speed, flexibility, and faster time-to-market, which is necessary for today's competitive business models.