Sanjay Pal, Global VP, and GM, Head of CX and Cloud Operations at IBM, equates many business experiences to lessons learned on the cricket pitch, “When you catch the ball, it doesn’t hurt. If you drop the catch, it can break your finger.”
In this episode of Net Effects Podcast, co-hosts Les Ottolenghi and Mark Bavisotto, talk with Sanjay about championing ideas and change, overcoming challenges, and relentlessly focusing on customer success.
Episode highlights:
- In 2021, technology is the foundation of every business. The pace of innovation is relentless. Healthcare is a good example of innovation right now. An IT department is critical and a driving force because it is top-of-mind for CEOs. Consider how to execute and keep up with the pace of change, so that the business can leverage the technology in the most secure, agile way.
- Sanjay has his own metric for success aligned around solving business problems. The four pillars include Leadership, talent, operational excellence, and developing a culture you want to drive in the organization.
- Cultural aspects that are core to business success and an environment that drives CX and EX include collaboration (break the silos), a client-first mindset (always listen to your customers), and a culture of giving back and teaching.
- Customer success is contingent upon knowing the users of your solutions and services. Understand your users, have measures in place, and pursue UX and CX. Sanjay emphasizes the fundamental belief that while the client is always right, it’s also ok to have healthy debates. Keep the client in a happy space and never give up, says Sanjay.
- The key to longevity for IT executives, comes down to actions and qualities like seizing opportunities, a learning mindset, getting out of your comfort zone and taking on challenges. It’s easy to talk about these things but they can also be difficult to act on. Take some risks, try to always keep learning, and keep up with new technologies.
Other topics included in this episode include DI&E advocacy and initiatives, as well as community giving and mentorship. Listen to the full episode now.
About Sanjay Pal: With a track record to deliver a trendsetting portfolio of services, groundbreaking business strategies, and technical innovations, Sanjay is exceptionally well-versed in all aspects of strategic business development with an impressive track record of generating remarkable growth for multi-billion-dollar businesses, building robust partner ecosystems, and dominating global markets. Sanjay is known for leveraging emerging technologies and customer insights to pioneer a game-changing portfolio of services and business models, and he is respected for demonstrating high levels of integrity while providing authentic, purposeful leadership. Sanjay offers extensive experience in the development, coaching, and leadership of global teams. In addition, he has led and executed six major Transformation initiatives and created market-leading organizations to enhance Customer Experiences.
Some of Sanjay’s achievements include:
- Created and leading CX Organization for a portfolio of 200+ Offering that runs on IBM Cloud
- Lead 1000+ Program and Project Manager Organization for 3B+ Services Business
- Grew an organization from 400 to 3,000+ top talent resources across six worldwide delivery centers. Through global team building and motivation, he engaged the workforce and drove the success of large-scale Global projects.
- While growing a business to $3 billion, Sanjay increased global delivery adoption from 8% to 27+%. Throughout his career, he has optimized profitability and capacity and demonstrated an unwavering passion for providing best-in-class product development.
- By optimizing a $600 million partner spend, Sanjay saved $50+ million in 12 months. In addition, he was consistently successful in forging strategic alliances and partnerships while strengthening stakeholder communications.
- He created new practice areas focused on Next-Gen Infrastructure, grew to over $100 million, and designed/integrated new services.
Sanjay holds a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Louisiana State University. In addition, he is a National Association of Corporate Development Leadership Fellow.
