Celebrating an important milestone today…. 75 years ago on 15th August 1947 India became independent from the British colonial rule.
Since then, the vision, enterprising spirit and innovative ideas along with hard work of over a billion Indians have propelled us to hold our head high in the world as the largest functioning running democracy and significant progress in technology, innovation and self sufficiency.
ASEI (American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin) has stood for not only a safe space for diaspora scientists, engineers and technologists to grow, share knowledge and help develop the next generation, but also strengthening Indo-US technological relations and collaborations since inception.
We greet all our members and well wishers and proud to celebrate the #azadikaamritmahotsav2022 with our Motherland! #jaihind
Originally from south India, after graduating from IIT Delhi, she came to the US for her masters at Cornell. Padma has been a member of Microsoft’s board of directors since December 2015. She is also a board member at Spotify .She was a member of the Gap Inc. board from 2013 to 2016[23] and the Box board from 2014 to 2016.
Apart from numerous commercial accolades and those from ASEI, she was recognized by National Association of Asian American Professionals NAAAP with a Lifetime achievement award NAAAP100 in 2021
In our Engineering Tales Episode 7 last week, Padma spoke with ASEI members and complemented us on continuing to inspire the next generation of technologists amongst the indo-american diaspora. She thanked ASEI for her 2013 Engineer of the Year award. Then she shared pertinent learnings from her career especially embracing change:
“Throughout my career, I have journeyed as an engineer to a technology executive to a CEO, not only changing roles along the way, but also industries—from Motorola to Cisco to Nio, and now Fable.”
As she has embraced change herself along the way, she also observed an evolution of how people learn and interact with one another, which inspired her to think about how we 1) apply technology to bring humanity back to each of us, and 2) make mental wellness through reading a priority.
She further shared the inspiration behind her current venture, as the founder and CEO of Fable – a social reading app platform. She also added that Indian-American Titans of Industry—like Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, and Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo—curating book recommendations which you can find on Fable.
She invites all ASEI members to read along with her in her own club, or join one of the many other free clubs you can find in the Fable app.
Additionally, she mentioned that they have amazing Career Development Book Clubs, which are designed to help you get to the next professional level, and are reimbursable through your company. In these clubs, you’ll study must-read books, get coaching from world-renowned leaders and authors, and connect with like-minded professionals, all on your schedule. You can learn more about these clubs at fable.co/career-development
In closing, Padma left us with her top 3 pieces of advice to young students or budding engineers and the importance of building networks through organizations like ASEI:
Invest in upskilling and reskilling yourself – (eg making career coaching available through our Career Dev clubs)
- Seek new opportunities – don’t wait for the perfect job to land in your lap
- Growth mindset – be curious and expand your areas of expertise
We are thankful for Padmasree Warrior in continuing to be a friend of ASEI as much as being a role model for not only all women of color but all Asian American Professionals.
Join Padma in your reading journey with her featured club on Fable for free to learn about her career journey as well as leadership tips.
