On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .
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Shuman Ghosemajumder , Global Head of AI at F5
wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?
I ’ ve had many enjoyable experiences in my career , but my most recent journey – helping to grow Shape Security from its early days to joining F5 last year – has been one of the best . Our team built a unique AI platform for cybersecurity , which grew rapidly over the course of eight years . It was exciting to see that adoption , which turned us into the primary application defence for the majority of the largest banks , airlines and federal agencies . That journey resulted in our acquisition by F5 , a company whose products helped build the Internet . F5 includes NGINX , the world ’ s most popular web server and BIG-IP , the leading application delivery controller , giving it a vast amount of potential data to leverage for our customers . Shape ’ s data platform is the basis for a new category of products my teams at F5 are now building , to unlock the power of application data for companies around the world through AI – which I am sure will produce some new memorable experiences for us all .
What first made you think of a career in technology ?
The support and guidance I received from my parents and teachers from an early age made a huge impact on me . When I was eight years old , my parents bought me a Commodore 64 . However , they didn ’ t buy me any games , so the only way I could have fun with
it was by learning how to program . In high school , my computer science teacher introduced me to a startup called Groupware , which gave me my first job as a software developer . They made me the solo developer on an interesting new product – the first graphic design software that would allow groups to edit documents together in real-time . This was years before Google Docs and Slides and other real-time collaborative tools existed . It was also prior to the World Wide Web , so groups had to collaborate on local area networks . We launched the product in 1991 and it was sold throughout North America . They also gave me the opportunity to be the presenter for its launch at an international conference . As a 15-year-old , it was an incredible experience for me . That was my first introduction to the technology industry and I knew then that it was where I wanted to spend my career .
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
I think popular concepts like ‘ servant leadership ’, ‘ integrative thinking ’ and the classic ‘ management by walking around ’ all contain good ideas , but there isn ’ t a single philosophy I subscribe to . Good leadership and management principles are not modern inventions and there isn ’ t a single management book or philosophy that is a silver bullet . In most situations , I try to focus on providing vision , clarity and support ; constantly learning and
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