For last 3 days I have had an incredible opportunity to attend and speak at the wonderful Software Product Management (SPM) Summit 2025 hosted by the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA) India Chapter. Gratitude to distinguished Professor Sadagopan and pioneer in tech industry Shri. Venki Mahadevan for this wonderful opportunity.
Day 0 (27th February, 2025) was day filled with workshops on different topics including AI for product management, how to scale product management, how product managers could influence organization. one of the takeaways for me is that to understand when to push and when to pull. There is no strict rule but depending on situation we should make a right decision.
Day 2 and Day 3 (28th February and March 1, 2025) have been full of energy, engaging panel discussions, fireside chats, inspiring stories and overall this is one of those conferences that did not make me feel bored in spite full packed agenda with back-to-back sessions. With about 150+ attendees, an amazing part was that every session got started on time and ended on time. More impressive thing is that almost every participant got back to auditorium without any delay post coffee or lunch break. Thanks to Priya Subbukutti and her team, who have done a brilliant job on posting updates on social media. If you follow ISPMA -India Chapter page on LinkedIn, you could get glimpse of everything.
While each attendee and speaker are amazing, here is list of a few outstanding people who I look at role models and plan to follow their path to make life even more meaningful and impactful.
Professor S Sadagopan
I sent him my first email back in 2005 introducing him to a few accessibility workshops with a request to nominate people to attend but with no luck of a response. In 2009, met him in his office during the Governing Council meeting of the National Association for the Blind, Karnataka Branch, as he then took charge as Honarary President of NAB K; then onwards, there was no single instance where he missed responding to my message or email. It’s very kind of him to keep talking about me with several people and introduced me to the wonderful people in the industry. He has been a gift to India and a rare personality who is an accomplished yet very humble. As a Chair of SPM Summit, not only he guided team to put together a great conference but stayed with full energy for all three days, he made sure while accomplished personalities are taken good care but also ensured every participant get to interact with them. Not only we got to interact with eminent personalities but also took photographs with them. To keep yourself updated with what’s happening in the industry, just follow his weekly update on LinkedIn. It has also been gratifying to meet Smt. Sadagopan amma who came to the conference specially for a few people like Wing Commander Shri. Rakesh Sharma sir and me. So lovely and nice of her.
Dr. A Velumani
Such an inspiring yet humble personality, who started life with INR 500 and exited with a single cheque of INR 5000 crore. built successful business Thyrocare Labs which grown from his wife and himself as Co-Founders to a public company with 25000 employees. He said all what he has achieved was possible because “fortunately” he came from a poor family and from a village. His mantra to success for any individual is to stay “focused”. Amazing this is that all of his employees are freshers. He said train your employees for 100 days on your own and that is equal to 1000 days of training by your competitors. I highly recommend watching his podcast on YouTube.
Dr. Mukul Saxena
Dr. Saxena is CTO and Head of Havells in India. He is an accomplished leader; served several corporations outside of India but returned to India to do something for mother earth. Many feels Havells is not an Indian brand but it does. He had a wonderful fireside chat hosted by Shri. Venki Mahadevan. Quote that resonates with Dr. Mukul is “If your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, you can achieve it.” and one advice to the leaders “Believe in your convictions!”. Some takeaways from his talk include: hire for passion and fire beyond job descriptions, balancing scale with innovation – while 60% should cater to business needs and 40% for experimentation and calculated risks. India has power for R & D for decades and much more.
Shri. Venki Mahadevan
Venki has been Co-Chair for this conference. Wow, an accomplished leader in software industry, spent a lot of time outside of India and returned for doing something good for mother earth (credit goes to Prof. Sadagopan). Yet, he is a humble and onething we share in common is that we cannot live without humour and fun! During SPM Summit 2025, he hosted Dr. Mukul Saxena and Wing Commander Shri. Rakesh Sharma with wonderful questions and of course fun. I have been fortunate enough to grab him aside during the conference and had a fantastic conversation. I can’t wait to do some exciting things with him in near future.
Wing Commander Shri. Rakesh Sharma
We read about Wg. Cdr. Shri. Rakesh Sharma in our books as the first (as of now the only) astronaut from India and never dreamt that I would get to meet him in person. Not only it was inspiring to have got an opportunity to listen to him but I have had a special moment. As I finished my fireside chat with Prof. Sadagopan and came down to sit, a man pat on my back and said “You did a wonderful talk, I came right on time and was able to listen to you completely, you are doing a good work, keep it up. BTW, my name is Rakesh Sharma” I was speechless and expressed my respect by touching his feet. He spent a lot of time at the conference and I have had honor of having several conversations and meal together. This is a once a life time opportunity.
Dr. S Somanath
We have all celebrated the success of Chandrayan and it’s gratifying to meet the man who led the project and expressed our gratitude in person. Dr. Somanath spoke about all the wonderful initiatives and technology developed at ISRO. While most of us know that ISRO is known for satellites but they also develop a lot of applications. ISRO also has several programs for students.
Dr. Sudhanshu Mani
Most of us in India may have by now travelled in Vande Bharat train and felt satisfying for its speed, comfort and hospitality. It was great to meet and hear from it’s Architect Dr. Sudhanshu Mani, Former General Manager of Integral Coach Factory. It is good to know that he spent a lot of time with their employees and someone believes that trust people and you will see wonderful results. It was great to hear the story behind Train18 Project.
Benny, Lavanya and Deepthi
I was able to spend all 3 days at SPM summit because of all the support provided by the wonderful organizing team Benny, Lavanya and my sister-in-law Deepthi. They have been with me at all times when I need support.
Overall, this has been a fulfilling and satisfying 3 days at SPM Summit 2025. Thanks again to Prof. Sadagopan sir and Shri. Venki Mahadevan for empowering my colleagues, my sister-in-law and me to be part of it. Looking forward to next summit.
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