Empowering Innovation and Transformation with Parul Ghosh – Techstrong Unplugged EP10

Hey everybody, and welcome back to Textron Unplugged. I'm your host, Natan Solomon, and this is episode 10 of our series. In this episode, we're taking you to the great International Developer Summit, also known as Kids 2024.

At gis. Our co-host, Cassandra Chin met up with Peru, gosh, who is the head of engineering enablement at Wells Fargo. In this interview, Peru shares her background in biotechnology, as well as her passion for innovation.

She also discusses the critical role of engineering enablement in enhancing the developer experience also dives into her commitment to social impact. Amazingly, one of her initiatives involve teaching 26,000 girls from underprivileged backgrounds how to code. Without further ado, let's head over to Gits 2024.

So welcome back to Text on Unplugged. I'm your host, Cassandra Chin, and today we're here with Par, PA Goosh. Thank you.

Hey, do a small introduction. Yes. So, hello all.

I'm Pa Goosh and I work for Wells Fargo. I'm the head of engineering enablement. I love doing innovation.

I am very passionate about, uh, lot of things, um, especially when it comes to hyper automation, cloud modernization, and that's the work, uh, that I'm doing in transforming the business, uh, for the bank. Okay, that's a lot of topics, what you work on. So, um, uh, I, my, uh, the focus for my work is about engineering enablement and, um, we need to solve developers experience and the problems that the developers are facing, uh, and accelerate their journey.

So one of the areas that I work on is creating in variance for the developers so that they don't need to, uh, start doing boilerplate work, do ground up work, they can focus on solving the business problem. So that's one of the areas. And we do a lot of invariant development, uh, both for workflows rules.

That's one of the areas that we do also, um, uh, other capabilities that as, as I said, is, uh, to really take care of the cloud journey. So Wells Fargo has a long cloud journey, and, uh, my team has been given, uh, as a role to take care of this cloud migration for Wells Fargo. So we enable the developers and help them in their cloud migration journey by removing those bottlenecks.

So how do you actually help them through their journey with migration? So, uh, one is, uh, enabling them with the right tooling. Second is, uh, giving them, uh, the right, uh, guidance that is there.

Uh, because, uh, cloud, uh, requires both, you need some great tooling. You need a strategy, and then you need, uh, the upskilling effort that is required. So we work, uh, 360 degrees with our teams, uh, in solving that.

And again, uh, uh, a lot of time, too many cooks spoil the broth, so we make sure that they, we are, uh, taking care of, uh, uh, giving the direction to the team and doing some bit of, uh, project management. You Said some folks spoil the broth. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

So too many people working on a project is, And it can, it can over complicate things. Correct. Uh, so what we do is make sure that we solve those problems by really, uh, uh, giving them the right guidance and just taking the people with the, uh, the similar blueprint patterns.

So a lot of times in technology, blueprints and patterns work great, and that's why we have design patterns and we have so many architectural patterns. So we, uh, take care of, uh, getting those patterns, understanding the patterns, clearly defining the blueprint, and then making sure, uh, application on application we are repeating the same patterns and learning from it. Do you have any specific examples of where this has helped?

So, uh, in, uh, we have lot of legacy applications and we need to do the migration. And, uh, that's where, uh, understanding blueprints is so important because, uh, some applications could be a mix of, uh, technology. Some applications could be mix of some other set of technologies.

So how do we really sort those technologies and, and combine them together? Um, uh, and what are the, uh, uh, roadblocks that each of these migrations will have? Because, uh, while cloud has great things, uh, Have you worked with any specific legacy applications?

We have many, but, uh, uh, and, uh, we have lot of dotnet, lot of Java applications. We have, uh, mainframes. Um, so there's a big amount of work that happens, but may not be, uh, we can go into details.

So if you have a legacy Java application, how do the blueprints help you? So, uh, the blueprints help us in understanding what is the pathway, uh, on cloud, how do we really go around, uh, do, uh, executing those blueprints? Uh, where are the, uh, uh, security vulnerabilities and are they, uh, being taken care of?

And that's where we categorize applications based on various, uh, um, complexity levels, et cetera, and then ship them in the, pack them in those blueprints, and then take them forward. Okay. And like, how did you get into tech?

So, I had a very interesting journey when I started doing my studies. So I, uh, decided that I will pick up biotechnology because I was always, uh, fascinated by, um, research, understanding more, doing something which is an unknown territory. And I think, uh, when I started my studies, biotechnology was just getting in, um, 20, 20 plus years back.

And, um, so I did that. Uh, but I quickly realized by the time I completed my graduation, that, uh, the industry will take time to mature. And I, I am somebody who's very short of patience.

So I quickly adapted myself and I got into technology. Um, and that's where I started my journey. I started with a developer in a small product based company.

We used to make insurance and banking products, and that's, that's the start. And then I kept rolling. How did you go from like, biotechnology to technology?

Did you have to study in school further or? So, uh, while I was, uh, while I was doing my biotechnology, I made sure that, uh, I have other plans, and, uh, I definitely did, uh, a lot of, uh, coding, uh, uh, projects along with it. Uh, there were some, uh, institutions within India, which were doing part-time education.

So I made sure I spent equal efforts in both of these places. And, uh, it, that, that made me quickly decide where my passion was and where, uh, the grass was greener, if I can say, um, so that I can move forward. What Are these institutions that you joined?

So, I, I did my studies, uh, initially with NIIT. It was a three years course, uh, along with my graduation, which helped me to create the foundation. But, uh, I think, uh, uh, in technology, the learning never stops.

You always need to learn, and, uh, learning from a college or institute is just the starting point. So I did that, and I entered the industry, and from that day, you constantly had to learn. net in those day, uh, whether it was a bb uh, visual Basic in those days, and then quickly moving to Java, and then so many other technologies, uh, I think learning never stops for us.

I'm very passionate about learning. I keep, uh, doing courses. Um, there are some great, uh, places, uh, today, uh, on the net as well as, uh, institutes which allow, uh, people, um, who are working to do those.

Uh, one of the, uh, Indian institutes, which I really like, uh, is, uh, NPL. It's N-P-T-E-L. And it's a open source.

Uh, uh, it's a place where, um, which is funded and, uh, run by government of India. Uh, it is, uh, it's a tie up between the best, uh, uh, I, uh, institutes in India, the IITs and the Iams. Uh, so, uh, you get the best professors, and you will get to do it, uh, at the comfort of your house.

Obviously, you need to pass to get those certificates and to be, uh, acknowledged, but it's fun. Is it really hard to get into this institute? So, Uh, it's not hard to get into those institutes, uh, but it's difficult to clear those exams, so anybody could go and learn.

But, uh, uh, uh, uh, the online courses, it's not, uh, there's no entry criteria except, uh, um, uh, that you should have some predefined, uh, knowledge, uh, about that particular technology. Um, but if you had to get into those institutes, it's the top cream of institutes. So it's really, really difficult.

1% of the Indians will be able to get into the System that's really competitive. Yeah, very, very competitive. It's one of the most competitive, uh, schools and the best, uh, CEOs of the world, especially Indians, come out of it.

So it's one of the best places. Yeah, I feel like you've gotten support from your family and friends. Um, I, I think for a woman, it, it really matters a lot.

Sometimes you get it, uh, uh, by, by, uh, uh, very se easily, and sometimes you have to ask for it. Uh, and slowly your family, uh, realizes that it's, uh, it's, uh, important to support you. Uh, another thing I feel, uh, as I've grown older, what I understand is that, uh, there are a lot of times we make choices.

And, uh, those choices are, uh, very, very important for us. Uh, it's all about balancing what's important, and, uh, sometimes, uh, we, we, uh, sway on either the personal front or the work. But yes, I've had a great family.

You say balancing between like, important things, or like, what, what is an important, like, family or Both? Uh, so, uh, while, uh, family is important and, uh, they will be always on the top, I think, uh, they all understand how, how you, uh, how you want, uh, how important my career is for me, and that's where the support comes in. So I think my children are my best, uh, pillars in my life, uh, whom I can look upon on, and they're, they're very accommodative, uh, especially working from India.

Um, uh, for us or any international companies, it becomes difficult because we juggle through times. And, uh, it, it, it is, uh, difficult, uh, because, uh, some of your key time with your family has to be compromised because you are working at that time. So I think, um, uh, it's not about, uh, as a lot of people say, it's not about the time, amount of time, but the quality of time, uh, and, uh, that's what I really try to do with my family.

So we spend time with your family, you really make sure you're like, what do you do with them? So like, With my kids, I, um, uh, so, uh, it depends on what, uh, support and in, uh, help that they need, but it's just being around with them. So a lot of times I take my evening calls and my work from evening work from home, which helps me just to be, be around with them, see what they're doing, see if they need that support, uh, help them in their school projects, appreciating them.

So those small things in life, uh, really make the difference. Yeah. So it's just being there for them, really Just being there.

Okay. And is there anything else you wanna talk about? Um, I'm sweating.

It's, That's very hot, Really hot this year. But, uh, I think, um, uh, I love giving back to the society. And, uh, another thing that I've been very, very keen on is bootstrapping.

So, um, these two things, when combined together, um, I have, uh, done a project for Wells Fargo where we, during the covid period, bootstrapped, uh, initiative for girls students. What we did was we started the teaching them STEM education and coding. And, uh, uh, obviously, uh, uh, during covid, everything was just very difficult.

There were these girls students from vulnerable or the, uh, uh, not real, not doing well, financial background, who didn't have, uh, uh, uh, schooling because schools were shut down and, uh, the only device that they could have is one phone, uh, which was shared across the family. And we started teaching them coding using Scratch as a project on that. And that has been a life changer for a lot of them.

Um, the covid year passed, uh, with the first batch of students, and, uh, from then the project has been, uh, just, uh, doing tremendous. Uh, this year we made an impact to 26,000 girls students helping them to learn coding. So that's, that's something I'm so very proud of, and I feel that when you have a great idea or a great thought, you should go about trying to do it and not stop yourself.

The biggest, uh, problem for you is your own, uh, your yourself. Correct. Uh, if I would've not, uh, gone ahead and spoken about my thought, my idea, um, to the leadership in Wells Fargo, and then we would've not executed it today, we would've not made that big of a impact.

I really wish that one day one of those girls will sit with you, Cassandra, and, uh, give an interview. So that's, that would be really the best thing in my life. You said you reached 26,000 girls?

Yes, 26,000 girls students. Um, so they, uh, we have, we have tie up with some, uh, NGO partners, and, uh, that's how we do the work. But how did you actually like, 'cause every girl and individual, they need individual attention.

So that's, that's where the, uh, scale comes in. Uh, once you understand, uh, and you, you leverage, uh, uh, um, online capabilities, you leverage the internet, you can teach, you can, uh, have online schools, you can use volunteers. That's how we started in Wells Fargo.

We started using the power of masses, uh, and, uh, the volunteers were extremely delighted to go and make that impact. So, uh, I think it's just to get the ball rolling, and then you have so many people who want to partner with you and do that work. So, So a great idea.

Are you teaching to teachers and other educators? I, I think, uh, uh, in today's world, uh, you do not need really teachers to go and teach, uh, most of the technologist, uh, people working, uh, in, uh, IT firms, they can go and teach. That's, that's fun, correct?

Uh, you get a purpose in life, you get something to do, uh, in your free time. And, uh, to be inspired, uh, inspire yourself, inspire your family about it. So that's fun.

So do you think people teach their kids, I don't know how many love to teach their kids? Teaching your own kid is always difficult to ask me, but when it comes to going and inspiring these girls, students who may not have the right infrastructure and the financial backing up, uh, they have this reel to go and, uh, learn and absorb what is given to them. And I think that's where, uh, the paradigm shift happens.

I like, that's a really good initiative. You reach so many young girls, I really am so proud of it. Another thing I feel is, uh, uh, we should always have that spark of creativity among us.

Uh, and once you are creative, once you are your yourself, as I say, you create innovation with everything and anything around you, you do not need to have only a strong academic background to do things. In today's world, you, you see so many great, uh, uh, people who have just, uh, great ideas and then they start learning and find out ways to execute it. So I'm that person.

I love innovation, and I have, uh, 18, uh, patents and patent applications on my name. So I love thinking about how to transform lives of people and businesses. And I feel that, that everybody should have a mission or a purpose in their life.

Because once you have it, you just find different ways of doing it, whether it's through technology or through a grassroots initiative. So you're really not afraid to put your own ideas out there. Sorry, you're not afraid to put your own ideas out.

There I am. So I think one of my strength is just, just be yourself. I think I've learned it, uh, uh, uh, after a very long time.

It takes time to, um, uh, embrace yourself. Correct. We are always so, uh, pushed, uh, to look like others, do, like others, and, uh, follow others.

Um, that has been completely a different thing for me. I am, I just want to be myself, because you never know. You may create that spark for somebody.

You may inspire somebody. If not anybody, at least I inspire myself. So that's, that's me.

Look, that's really great and we've had a really good chat today. Thank You. Thank you, Cassandra.

So thank you. Bye.