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In the service of the customer

To make a significant contribution in every role that she plays is the mission of life for Padmaja Krishnan, Director, Planning and Research, CSC India, writes Chirasrota Jena.

Padmaja Krishnan attributes her success to the focussed importance she has always given to her organisation’s customers. As the Director, Planning and Research, CSC India, Krishnan has been a key player in creating the brand awareness, in India and overseas. She has also leveraged CSC India’s credentials for the offshore services markets. With more than 20 years of experience in the field of IT, Krishnan has witnessed the different phases of the industry’s growth in India.

Her group works in close co-ordination with accounts teams, business development people and communications groups across CSC locations and ensures seamless integration in all pursuits of the organisation.

After completing her MSc from Delhi University in Physics, Padmaja did her MPhil in Systems and Computer Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

She is also a National Science and Talent Scholar and certified from Tick IT Lead Assessor from the UK. Krishnan became a Lead Assessor in 1992 when there was little awareness of formal certification process for quality.

At that time, since there was no quality consulting, the only way was to understand the Lead Assessor programme. After completing the programme and clearing the exam, one becomes a certified auditor/lead assessor.

Padmaja Krishnan says, “I started as a Systems Programmer, IBM Assembly Language, Fortran, and then moved to commercial business applications development in banking, insurance, utilities, software products and measurement tools. I pioneered the move from projects to ODC-based delivery models, took up quality assurance and process excellence as a full-time role and enjoyed the transition of India Inc, leading the quality wave. I also worked with start-up firms to set up and lead their operations across business development, delivery, quality and HR functions and lead large accounts as executive sponsor.”

She had also taken the lead role in strategic initiatives and marketing functions during her different stints. Before joining CSC, Krishnan was working with software companies like TCS, Perot Systems and Xansa. She had started her career at TCS as a trainee engineer and spent more than 11 years at TCS. During her stint at Xansa, Krishnan had played a key role—from getting new projects to the right kind of infrastructure, people, processes and communications and involved herself in every aspect of business. She had joined CSC in December 2005.

Says Krishnan, “At CSC, I am leading the offshore direct initiatives, marketing and communications functions. Customers are the very purpose of our business. Everything else is second priority. I feel that what we do needs to be aligned to the customer’s needs.”

Krishnan had entered the IT industry to start her career when IBM was leaving India. She considers this as the turning point in her life. In her long career, she has had experiences in almost every aspect of the software industry, starting from software project implementation to quality assurance to business management.

She plays a leading role in the expansion process of CSC in India, whether it is the decision to be taken for mass recruitment or for the infrastructural expansion of the company.

Informing about her success mantra, Krishnan says, “I have got tremendous inspiration from a prayer. I always asked the God to grant me the courage to change whatever I can for the better, the serenity to accept what I can’t change and the wisdom to know the difference.”

“My professional achievements are evangelising India’s IT credentials and ensuring that our customers’ benefit the maximum,” asserts Krishnan.

In her personal sphere, her family comprises her husband and two daughters. She loves to listen to music and read books.

To unwind from her busy schedule, she loves to go to Leh as the place is where one can get nature in its purest form. She says, “One can see how harmoniously nature blends in its different forms, see clouds below oneself as one stands on the mountains, witness the sky and the mountains merging and see deserts, sand dunes and lakes as wide and deep as oceans on top of the mountains. It is all quite breathtaking.”