CxO of the Week: Saptorsi Hore, COO, ThoughtWorks India

CxO of the Week: Saptorsi or Sapto, as he is more often called, gradually grew into the role of Market Partner for ThoughtWorks Europe (EU), where he was responsible for the complete software design and delivery to clients based in Europe.

Interestingly, his decade of experience in the industry saw him develop a penchant for complex ‘rescue’ projects that required visionary leadership and earned him the nickname - firefighter.

What is your top priority while making decisions to improve technology infrastructure in your organization?

Finding the right problem to solve is the start. Couple this with developing the solution that keeps both the end-user and business goals in focus, and we have before us our highest priority. This priority will direct investments to improve tech infrastructure.

What are some of the challenges you face in driving digital transformation?

Martec's Law states that technology changes exponentially while organizations change logarithmically. In other words, technology is changing faster than organizations can absorb that change. Recognize how completely entwined organizational changes are with technology strategies.

This recognition leads us the foresight to address a particularly difficult challenge (if not one of the most difficult) - identifying the tech changes that need to be absorbed into the operations and culture of an organization, while also keeping the users at the heart of the solution.

Do you feel that freshers in the industry come with only basic knowledge, but don’t have right skills to fulfill job requirements? If yes, what are your suggestions to students and colleges?

We hire new graduates from the industry every year and have always been pleasantly surprised by the level of aptitude and the proactive attitude that is brought to the table. We put in a fair bit of effort in helping new people - learning our way of working, our practices and delivery approach.

While new employees come equipped with the core skills, we work at strengthening the technologist's foundation and focus on the ability to learn and adapt.

Given that technology will continue to change rapidly, my advice is to focus more on core concepts and practices rather than on specific technologies or skill sets. If someone has the ability to learn and unlearn, they will be better suited to deal with the dynamic change and the onslaught of new technologies.

What’s your mantra to become successful in life?

A fail-fast mindset that looks forward to collaborating with people, effectively prioritizing to solve the most important problems and finally, a strong sense of learnability have been the three principles that have worked for me to date.

What would you like to give back to society?

In the IT industry, diversity and equal opportunity continue to be a challenge. I am working hard at being a progressive influencer and mentor within the space.

What is your favorite book? What are you currently reading now?

Favourite is Mindset by Carol Dweck and currently reading - How We Learn by Benedict Carey

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Mostly reading, travelling, watching movies and trying to stay healthy.

Experience

Saptorsi Hore has 20 years of extensive experience, before ThoughtWorks, Sapto was working with Societe Generale, French multinational banking, and financial services company headquartered in Paris.

First job – Business Analyst in IT services

Education – IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta

Take a look at the previous CxO of the Week