GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the
industry experts what makes them tick. . . .
Sankar Narayanan,
Chief Practice Officer at Fractal Analytics
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
I was sent to London in 2010 on a ‘sole
representative visa’ by our CEO as the first
employee of Fractal Analytics, to support the
UK and European needs of a client that we
had been working with in other regions. Little
did I know that within the next eight to nine
years, I would have the opportunity to lead
Fractal Analytics’ global insurance, healthcare,
technology practice and be a key part of the
incredible growth of our UK and European
organisation to over 100 people across three
locations. I believe we are just getting started.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
My career in technology has been one
of serendipitous discovery. I didn’t
think I would get into software product
development when I joined Sallie Mae. I
didn’t think I would land an internship at
IBM. When I was in business school, I didn’t
think I would be part of Fractal Analytics’
meteoric growth story. And yet, here I am.
Loving every day of it.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with your
current position?
I received a good piece of advice in the
early part of my career – to hire people that
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are more capable than I am and develop
them. That is what I have focused on doing
at Fractal Analytics.
I simply build swim lanes for them to be the
best versions of themselves and engage with
each other in a boundary-less manner. People
that have an entrepreneurial orientation tend
to excel in this system, which allows me to
work more closely with those that need more
coaching and mentoring.
What do you think will emerge as the
technology trend of 2019 and why?
As enterprises start to apply AI at scale to
power decisions, data engineering, specifically
ML engineering will become the hottest skill in
the market and data engineering will become
the most precious commodity.
“
I RECEIVED A
GOOD PIECE OF
ADVICE IN THE
EARLY PART OF
MY CAREER – TO
HIRE PEOPLE
THAT ARE MORE
CAPABLE THAN
I AM AND
DEVELOP THEM.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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