Who says women are not hardwired for technology? Just ask Latha Nathan, Deputy Vice President, Delivery Team, BankBazaar.com and she’ll tell you how well she syncs with everything tech.
Let’s get to know Latha a little better.
The power of data always awed Latha. And this is what was responsible for her advent into the field of databases and data warehousing. Latha has to her credit 14 years of experience in the IT industry with feats like handling the setting up of the India office for a United Kingdom-based data warehousing company and then eventually spearheading their UK, New Zealand, and India offices in the capacity of Global Delivery Manager.
Says Latha, “The work was pretty exciting and challenging and Her Majesty’s Treasury (equivalent to our Central Government coffers) used our product to plan the entire UK budgeting.”
Kudos, Latha!
Now, let’s talk about what Latha does at BankBazaar.
As the head of the delivery team at BankBazaar, Latha supervises the technology integration, configuration, and integration development teams. Wondering what exactly these teams do? Here goes:
Technology Integration – Here, a bunch of program and project managers, as well as analysts, interface with partners. They analyse /understand their systems and come up with the best model of integration.
Configuration – In the configuration team, a bunch of managers, project leads, and analysts own and manage knowledge processes as well as the BankBazaar in-house content management system.
Integration Development – This is a team of developers who work on integration code units as well as partner-integration frameworks.
Think you might fit into one of these teams? You should check out our careers page.
We asked Latha to tell us a little more about her work, bracing ourselves to hear what could be Greek and Latin to us. But we were proved terribly wrong when Latha described her job to us in these simple sentences.
“My job is to simply enable my team members to perform their roles better and improve further as each day goes by, either through innovation, or automation, or better processes.”
“The mantra for this year in our business unit is templatise, prioritise, automate.” Latha added.
Spoken like a true master of the game. A description that requires no explanation.
When it comes to the finance industry, we asked Latha what she thought about the future of banking and financial services, she said, “Paperless is the word that is revolutionising the banking sector and I am happy to be a part of an organisation which is playing a strong role in it.”
Speaking from Experience
Latha has always been at the forefront of all that she does. Awed by her leadership and entrepreneurial acumen, we took the opportunity to learn from her life experience this Women’s Day.
We observed that her success stems from her unwavering focus on her work and life at large. She is a clear-headed person with a razor-sharp focus on her professional and personal goals. And she has possessed this acumen right from her college days.
Latha told us a story from back when she was in college, when everybody was going gaga over the budding vertical of networking (fiber optics). When people were rushing to gain mastery over networking basics like routing, switching, and access points, Latha kept her vision focused on learning the art of database and data warehousing.
“I still remember that the cool thing those days was networking – fiber optics. When all my college mates would fight for seats in the networking electives, I would be the odd one out attending MIS, DW, and DSS classes,” Latha reminisced.
Cheers to Latha’s dedication.
Thanks to her, today, BankBazaar’s tech team packs a punch. We see a lot of good work coming out of the team on all fronts.
How does Latha keep her team motivated and in top form?
Latha says, “I strongly feel that innovation stems from a positive and open work culture. It’s important to understand that there is a thin boundary between making your team feel challenged and not pressured.”
Latha adds that a leader must be supportive of his/her team members when they make mistakes just as much as when their achievements and successes are called out. This is the best way to boost confidence within the team.
At this point, Latha did not hesitate to laud the company for nurturing the right kind of environment for growth and success.
“The management team and the culture at BankBazaar are what make the difference. While I have worked with multiple management teams in the past, the level of transparency and the clarity of vision that BankBazaar possesses is very inspiring and makes me truly proud to be a part of the company. This company truly cares for and respects its employees.”
If you are looking to come under the tutelage of Latha, then there are only three things she requires of you:
- Execute your job with passion
- Lead by example
- Respect people and time
How does Latha manage her money?
Being the strong, independent, and well-travelled person that Latha is, we are sure she does an amazing job of tackling her finances. After all, she has helped ‘Her Majesty’ manage her treasury too.
Latha revealed that after she joined BankBazaar, (we’re a fintech company for those who don’t already know), she understood the importance of investing in a comprehensive Health Insurance Plan, apart from the one provided by the company.
Latha says, “So, I took one (Health Insurance policy) through the BankBazaar website (www.bankbazaar.com) within six months of having joined BankBazaar.”
While we were still on the topic of finances, we asked Latha to shed light on how she thought women should manage their finances. One of the first things Latha said was that it is extremely important for women to start managing their own finances instead of delegating the task to others.
“I would like women to try their hand at it (personal finance) one step at a time and learn from their mistakes. I am a strong believer that women need to be independent financially and mentally to the best of their capabilities.”
Latha stressed on the fact that women should work to build an identity of their own. The confidence and exposure they gain when they go out and meet and tackle people and situations will greatly help them break out of their shell.
Hold on… you’ll love what Latha said next when it comes women and money.
“It is important to save some money for yourself rather than spend it all on the family.” Don’t we all wish it? Some quality ‘ME’ time.
We hear you, Latha!
Finding the Balance
An old adage goes – A healthy mind in a healthy body. While Health Insurance and some exercise will take care of your health, a good work-life balance will nourish your mind. Here’s what Latha had to say about it. Womenfolk, you could take a useful tip or two.
“There are 2 things in life that I am really passionate about – my family and my job. I do not believe in giving up on one for the sake of the other as it will make me discontent in the due course of time.”
“On the one hand, coming in early to work, ahead of the team, really gives me an edge when it comes to planning my day as well as prioritising tasks for my team. On the other hand, I unplug myself by doing short road trips with my family and I try to keep my vacations gadget-free.”
Way to go, Latha! We are truly, immensely proud of you and hope that you’ll keep inspiring women at and outside BankBazaar to keep working towards their dreams.
Think you’d be a good fit at BankBazaar?