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Santa Palchaudhuri


Software Engineer, Enterprise Cloud Platform

 

When Santa Palchaudhuri decided to leave Silicon Valley and go into banking, he had a lot of explaining to do to his friends and coworkers. “They all thought I was playing it safe," he says with a laugh.

But where they saw a conventional Wall Street giant, he saw a technologist's dream job: to work with one of the world's largest companies, building its private cloud service from the ground up. “I knew it would be an amazing opportunity," he explains.

It's been anything but boring, as Palchaudhuri likes to remind his friends. “My team and I work with the most cutting-edge, modern technology—stuff a lot of companies would be hesitant to venture into," he says. "That's been a wonderful surprise."

What does success look like to you?

For me, success is equivalent to happiness in life. What is happiness? Being able to do what you want and not what you're expected to do. In Eastern societies like India, where I am from, there is a lot more pressure from your seniors telling you what to be. But I have been very, very clear with my kids that I definitely want them to choose their career and their happiness.

What do you consider the most valuable piece of advice you've ever received and where did it come from?

My dad once told me a long time ago never to run after money. Instead, prepare yourself such that money runs after you. I truly try to follow that.

What is the biggest obstacle you've overcome in life?

I don't have a big obstacle I can point my finger to. What I can say is that I am very passionate. I like dealing with people who are authentic. Sometimes, when I feel that people are not being authentic, not having the intellectual honesty to stand up for something by saying, 'hey, that's my fault,' simple things like that, I don't react very well. So I have had to learn to grow up and contain my passions a little bit better.

Now if I am really upset, I actually close my laptop and tell myself not to reply while I am deeply upset. I sleep on it and wake up with a fresh mind. I have suffered for reacting adversely, and I have learned.

Work-from-home, go to the office or a mix of both?

I like a mix of both. To be honest, I looked at the data, and my team and I are all about 50 percent more productive at home right now in terms of number of check-ins, deliverables, all that sort of stuff, because people can focus without interruption. Plus, the traffic is so bad in Bangalore and we all have long commutes, and now we don't have that physical and mental strain and can have all that time back.

But I do miss the things like Fun Fridays, when we would all get in a conference room with a big white board and brainstorm together on how to build new things. And the extended lunches. And the beers. I definitely miss that bonding.