Tapasya is passionate about creating value and building an ecosystem that opens new avenues for business and her passion has helped her chart her own path at Tietoevry.
Life is beautiful when you follow your passion and are mindful of every moment
I appreciate every aspect of life. As a career woman, I spend about 9 hours at work every day and still take out time for activities I am passionate about like reading, sketching, traveling and singing. I feel particularly rejuvenated by reading and try my best to read at least two new books every month.
I believe that without committing to our passion we cannot have the motivation to push ourselves forward in life. I also practice mindfulness and believe that our mind is always wandering, and we need to bring it back and focus on what matters most to us.
My journey to leading multiple products in the Payments and Cash management unit
In 2013, working for a financial services company and having late evening meetings with US customers while taking care of two young kids at home, was taking a toll on me. This is when I decided to take a break from work. After some time, when I was ready to get back to work, I came across an open position at Tietoevry and applied. I was surprised that in my interview there were no questions asked about my break and after a very transparent recruitment process, I was offered the challenging role of Head of the Center of Excellence in Testing. This role required me to set up a new practice with 70+ automation engineers, working across India, Finland, Czech Republic, and serving almost 20+ customers across the Nordics.
I had worked in Fintech earlier and had Agile practitioner and operational experience, and soon got an opportunity to laterally move into Payments as Head of Product Development. This was an area in which I was keenly interested and through my constant efforts to improve business prospects for existing products and find new sales opportunities, I was able to transition into a leadership role in just a few years.
I got functional exposure in banking, payments, liquidity management and cash management. I led 10 different products in the Payments and Cash Management unit within Tietoevry Banking that builds solutions for top leading banks in the Nordics. I am fascinated by the product management function and feel it is strategic and critical to an organization’s success. As I was getting more and more involved in creating new opportunities for the business, when there was an opening for a Product Manager, I applied and was selected for this position.
I got tremendous support from the company in my learning journey, be it certifications in the Payments domain, presenting businesses cases and testing new ideas in user-group conferences for all Payments & Messaging customers, representing the company in external conferences, leadership trainings or mentoring support from my manager and other experts in the company. Tietoevry really is unique in terms of the opportunities it makes available to its workforce, and I feel I have had every opportunity to grow and progress as any of my colleagues across the globe.
The payments space is going through many changes due to digitalization, modernization of platforms, and standardization of payment standards across the globe. Tietoevry is a market leader in the Nordics, and we have ambitious plans for the global market. I am currently driving the API strategy and contributing to Payments- as-a-Service and go-to-market planning as envisioned by our leadership team. I am the only product manager in banking located outside of the Nordics. My team is spread across India, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the UK and is very diverse in terms of age, gender, culture, knowledge, views and perspectives. We enjoy serving our customers and always receive the highest NPS and customer satisfaction scores.
Developing a global mindset and growing as an individual
Tietoevry truly has a global work culture. Over the last 7 years, I have traveled extensively to Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Czech Republic to meet my team as well as our customers. We have a very healthy work environment where we try to learn about and understand each other’s culture and working style. Every team member plays a critical role in driving success, so effort is made to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and enjoys working in the team.
As a strong D&I supporter, I feel aligned with Tietoevry’ s values
Tietoevry has a culture that supports Diversity and Inclusion, and it is important for the company that every individual feels supported, respected, and valued here. I feel deeply for D&I and have been an active member of the anti-harassment committee also at Tietoevry India. I feel aligned with Tietoevry values of openness, trust and diversity, and do not need to put any effort in feeling engaged with this organization, this happens naturally.
If you believe in your calling and are passionate about your work, Tietoevry is the place for you
As an individual, confidence and fearlessness have always been my strong suit. However, many times especially early in my career, I doubted myself and felt guilty about not doing enough for my kids. In that respect, I drew inspiration from Sheryl Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In’. I could relate very well with the author’s observation that women feel guilty for not doing enough as a mother, keep doubting themselves, and many times suffer from the imposter syndrome. I believe it is natural for women to have doubts while managing multiple fronts like work, family and kids and prioritization can help a lot.
Tietoevry gave me an enabling environment where I could follow my passion, explore my interests and find numerous opportunities to grow. My message to everyone out there is - follow your passion, take complete charge of your life, set goals and achieve those and live a happy and fulfilling life. Also, if you believe in your calling and are passionate about your work, Tietoevry is the place for you.
Tapasya Pathak is Product Manager at Tietoevry Banking. She lives in Pune with her husband and two children.