Empowering Indian Expats: Create more Impact & Influence, beyond just making a living

Ehsan Ali

Bringing Stories, Strategies and Life Lessons of inspiring Indian Expats who dared to take the leap and successfully transitioned from Employee to Entrepreneur or excelled in Corporate Career itself beyond an average 9-5.Your host Ehsan Ali moved from India to Australia in 2008 with big dreams but without realising settled into a normal job. A decade later, when he tried to escape the mediocrity trap, he couldn‘t get enough help and encouragement. Finally, he launched this podcast as an endeavor to unpack stories of Indian expats who have already made it and are willing to share their journey with the rest of us. Ehsan‘s objective is to build a powerful knowledge database covering a wide variety of transition and transformation stories. read less
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Episodes

E39 - Using Technologies To Impact Human Lives With Jaya  Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital
May 16 2022
E39 - Using Technologies To Impact Human Lives With Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital
The less traversed path comes with unique challenges that change the way we think. The guest of this week, Jaya Vaidhyanathan, has stretched her boundaries to show that we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to. Jaya was listed in the top 10 most influential women in tech and has also been named India's most trustworthy CEO. She started her career as a computer science graduate. She wanted to work with people rather than systems, so she studied finance and strategy in an MBA program at Cornell University in USA. During her MBA, investment banking caught her interest, so she joined CIBC Oppenheimer as their Director. She then got into technology shaping up large deals in USA for HCL Technologies. After that, she moved to management consulting where she worked on setting up large businesses for Accenture clients.  Then, she joined Standard Chartered Bank as Executive Vice President heading global technology and strategic transformation. A personal situation made her think of the next stage of her career, and she thought of bringing all her corporate experiences to build something valuable for the banking industry to help the bankers. And her entrepreneurial journey started. Today she is CEO at BCT Digital and Independent Director at UTI Mutual Funds. During her career, she was primarily driven by demands on a personal and professional front. Her passion for exploring and learning became apparent in her shifts in jobs in quite different ways. Her main objective is to use technologies to impact human lives. In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Various aspects of growing your careerDeveloping right growth mindsetTransitioning into EntrepreneurshipGiving back and creating an impact  Jaya Vaidhyanathan coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaya-vaidhyanathan-26039510 Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan  If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career are costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E38 - From Door-to-Door Sales to Building a Technology Platform With Tinesh Chhaya, Founder, Decipher Cyber
Mar 14 2022
E38 - From Door-to-Door Sales to Building a Technology Platform With Tinesh Chhaya, Founder, Decipher Cyber
Do you want to start a side hustle? Do you want to shift from corporate to entrepreneurship? Then this episode is the answer to your questions.   From finance to sales, From banking to cybersecurity,  Tinesh Chhaya has experienced it all.   He started his journey in finance but soon realized he needed to switch. He moved to sales, where he sold address verification software door to door. It didn't take him long to realize there was much more to life than what he was doing.   He then joined Gartner, which turned out to be the best decision of his life. He got an inside-out view of the entire market.   That's where he fell in love with cybersecurity.   He switched a lot of roles and did a number of side hustles before starting his own firm in cybersecurity.   Today he is very proud to say that he is building the largest database of CyberSecurity vendors globally with his startup Decipher Cyber.   The following are two important lessons he learned from his side hustles: Always do whatever you are passionate about Choose your business partner correctly In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about SalesImportance of mentorshipFinding opportunitiesCareer switching Following your passionIdentifying the problem Creating the solution  Tinesh Chhaya coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinesh-chhaya-07623097/  Company Website: http://www.deciphercyber.com/  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career are costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E37 - From a Programmer to Global Innovation Leader & CEO of a Startup Incubator/Accelerator, Malik Irfan
Mar 7 2022
E37 - From a Programmer to Global Innovation Leader & CEO of a Startup Incubator/Accelerator, Malik Irfan
Starting as a programmer, Malik Irfan has evolved into a Serial Entrepreneur and Innovation thought leader. Today, he runs a Start-up Accelerator as well as a successful IT Consulting Company. He is also the president of AIBC (Australia India Business Council – a 30+ years old non-profit organisation). There is a lot to learn from Malik’s experience – both in entrepreneurship as well as a corporate career.   Malik’s journey in short: Malik was born and raised in Kerala. He worked for a couple of years with Tech Mahindra (then Satyam Computers). He then decided to build his own software development company. He managed to find his co-founders but moved to Australia for further studies. While pursuing his masters in Australia, he developed a strong network in the local community and that’s how he found his first client for his company. His business grew and he started to consult with large enterprises. His next opportunity came with a large financial services organsation where he stayed for about 10 years, delivering large digital programs and developing his leadership skills. The credibility he built in Australia got him invited to middle east where he spent his next 2-3 years building innovative technology solutions. Today, he runs a startup accelerator, is the CEO of his IT consulting company, is president of AIBC, and is also an investor in several tech startups.   In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about LeveragingLegacyGiving back to societyLook for synergiesNetworkingBuilding confidenceCreating an impactFollowing your passion   Malik Irfan coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irfanmalikmobility/ Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan   If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career are costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E36 - From The Study of Medicines to Tutoring Neurodivergent Kids and NLP Trainer With Fatema Kudrati, Director, Kip McGrath Education Centre Ringwood
Feb 21 2022
E36 - From The Study of Medicines to Tutoring Neurodivergent Kids and NLP Trainer With Fatema Kudrati, Director, Kip McGrath Education Centre Ringwood
We often find it difficult to pursue our passions. This week's guest Fatema Kudrati shares how a medical school graduate got into child tutoring, development, and NLP training.   In 2004, her son was diagnosed with ADHD, and that's when she realized it's not a learning difficulty, it's a teaching difficulty, and all brains can learn.   She then started helping neurodivergent kids to build self-esteem and self-confidence in themselves.  Initially, she served as a mentor for Toastmasters Gravels Club in Kuwait. After moving to Australia, she opened the Ringwood branch of Kip McGrath Education Centre. And then there was no looking back.   Today she also teaches NLP concepts that helped her to be the master of her own mind, speed reading, mind mapping, and the art of public speaking. Her main objective is to create an impact.   In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about NLP concepts Mind mapping and its application Speed reading Building confidence Creating an impact Following your passion Fatema Kudrati coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachfatema/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drkudrati  Personal Website: https://www.fatemakudrati.com.au/  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan  If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career are costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E35 - Running a Portfolio Career With Founder and CEO of Wisedoc, Akash Kannegulla, Ph.D
Feb 14 2022
E35 - Running a Portfolio Career With Founder and CEO of Wisedoc, Akash Kannegulla, Ph.D
Most of us find it challenging to manage a job along with family. This week’s guest Akash Kannegulla shares how he manages a full-time job and a start-up alongwith a family.   He is a perfect example of living his passion, working for a cause and perseverance.   While pursuing his Phd in nano-photonics (heard of it before?), he ventured into the world of entrepreneurship and developed a cloud-based product for researchers to help create thesis faster and named Wisedoc. During covid, his father and his sister lost their jobs so he pivoted and made his product useful for students and job seekers. For the last 3 years, he has been working for Intel as a Process Integration Engineer alongside running a full-fledged business.   He strongly believes that the best way to know what you want is to keep exploring.  He has shared his entire journey from identifying the problem statement to developing the product and finding the work-life balance. In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Communication Networking Being motivated at hard times Identifying the problem Creating the solution Perfecting a pitch Accepting the criticism    Akash Kannegulla coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akashkannegulla/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AKannegulla Company Website: https://www.wisedoc.net/   Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan   If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career are costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E34 - Starting Biz From Scratch in a New Country, With Naheed Khan, Founder of FuturWits
Jan 10 2022
E34 - Starting Biz From Scratch in a New Country, With Naheed Khan, Founder of FuturWits
Establishing your own company can be a little intimidating at times.  Shifting to a new country is often challenging. Isn't it? Naheed dealt with all of it and is now a Transformational Learning and Development Consultant and a Co-Founder of Futurwits. She started her journey way back in 2004 as a Sales Trainee Manager at Bajaj Life Insurances. And eventually moved to SBI as a Training Manager, where she started applying NLP concepts even before being certified as an NLP practitioner. Soon after, she and her husband shifted to Dubai and registered their company. While re-establishing themselves in a new country, they faced many challenges. In all the challenging times she focused upon 3 simple rules, which were: Be conscious of the words that you use.Think about the outcome and not the path.Be present in your present moment. She works on aligning your purpose with your job and limiting the barriers to accepting change. With less than 3 years under her belt, her business has expanded to 16 countries, won 5 awards, and been a finalist at the Gulf Capital SME Awards.  It was a combination of giving and networking offline and online across different platforms, such as Linkedin, Coffee Mug, and Lunch Club, that allowed her to expand so much. In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Aligning with the purposeAdding value to your visionNetworkingFocusing on the goal, not the pathFinding your visionImportance of getting a coachSome concepts of NLP Naheed Khan coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naheedkhan/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/naheedinspires  Company Website: https://www.futurwits.com/  Personal Website: https://www.naheedkhan.com/  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career is costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E33 - From Chef to Airline CEO, With Koustav Dhar, CEO At Zoom Air
Jan 3 2022
E33 - From Chef to Airline CEO, With Koustav Dhar, CEO At Zoom Air
Success leaves clues. It's intriguing how a Chef can become CEO of an airline. Not only that, Koustab became an authority in starting full-service airlines from scratch in the Build-Operate-Transfer model. As a hotel management graduate, Koustav started as a chef and grew rapidly into leadership positions in the hospitality industry. By a twist of fate, Koustav sat next to Sahara Airlines chairman in a flight. That conversation led to him getting invited to work at Sahara Airlines. That's where he learned about the airlines business. Again, with his dedication and hard work, he grew rapidly in ranks; he was given the responsibility to expand the airline outside India.  After Sahara airlines got sold to Jet airways, by another twist of fate, he was invited to start the MDLR airlines. And he hasn't looked back since then. He has built 9 airlines so far in the Build-Operate-Transfer model and 2 more are in the pipeline. There is a lot to learn from his journey.  He shared his story in the following stages Chef to general manager General Manager to Vice President at Air SaharaBuilding MDLR and Jagson AirlinesCreating Zoom Air In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Business strategiesWhat does it take to create exponential career growth EntrepreneurshipBrand buildingNetworking Managing failuresBeing generous Koustav M. Dhar coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/koustavmdhar/?locale=en_US  Blog: http://indiaregionalaviation.blogspot.com/2009/01/indian-aviation-hopes-2009-new.html  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan If you are concerned about your career, take the 3-minute quiz to find out what gaps in your career is costing you the most: https://empoweringyourcareer.scoreapp.com/
E32 -  A Senior Marketing & Digital Innovation Professional to Mental Health Start-up With Vijay Solanki, Co-founder & CEO at ParentalEQ, TEDx Speaker
Dec 27 2021
E32 - A Senior Marketing & Digital Innovation Professional to Mental Health Start-up With Vijay Solanki, Co-founder & CEO at ParentalEQ, TEDx Speaker
Are you keen to build your career around marketing? Does psychology excite you? Are you a parent dealing with a mental health issue? This episode might be the answer to all your questions. From medical school dropout to psychology graduate,  From practicing marketing and digital innovation to building his own startup on parent-child psychology, Through his journey, Vijay expresses his desire to serve parents and children struggling with mental health issues and also continue growing as a person. Born in Kenya, Vijay spent most of his life in the UK before moving to Australia seven years ago. After graduating with a bachelor's in psychology, he worked as a Brand Manager for Unilever. Eventually, he moved into digital innovation. Mental health issues took a toll on him after his parents passed away, which led him to contemplate all the things he could do to raise his own children.  After this, he built a company focused on parent-child psychology for every parent and describes it as a therapist in your pocket and a virtual digital clinic. Here's what you'll learn in this episode of Empowering Indian Expats Value propositionMarketing in various aspects  Finding a target audienceMental healthEmotional wellbeingPitching Investors Vijay Solanki coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijaysolanki/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaysol/  Company website: https://parentaleq.com/  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
E31 - From HR Recruiting to Building His Own Sports Analytics Business With Nakul Pednekar, Founder,  Wicky
Dec 20 2021
E31 - From HR Recruiting to Building His Own Sports Analytics Business With Nakul Pednekar, Founder, Wicky
Are you considering starting your own company?? Are you ready to have a paradigm shift in the way you perceive things?   This episode has the answers to your questions.   From HR graduate jobs to Analytics and Data Science Recruiter, From slacking off on science tests in school to owning an analytical firm, His journey demonstrates his passion for learning, his drive to find his purpose, and his desire to maintain a work-life balance.   Nakul left Mumbai, India when he was 5 to move to Sydney, Australia, with his family.  After graduating with a background in commerce, he started his career at CitiBank as an HR and Recruitment intern. He currently runs a sports analytics business named Wicky.   He has demonstrated his journey in the following states:  - HR intern at Citibank   - HR Analyst and Lend Lease and Sanofi  - Data Science Recruiter at Motion  - Partner at Sterning  - Founder of Wicky  In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Building on core valuesHandling criticism CommunicationNetworkingWork-life balanceBeing easy on yourselfFinding a factor that drives youMaintaining relationships with clients Nakul Pednekar coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nakul-pednekar-5486972a/  Company Website: https://wicky.ai/ Email: Nakul@wicky.ai Twitter: https://twitter.com/NakulP1991  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan
E30 - From a Doer to a Thought Leader With Kshira Saagar, Chief Data Officer, Latitude Financial Services
Dec 13 2021
E30 - From a Doer to a Thought Leader With Kshira Saagar, Chief Data Officer, Latitude Financial Services
Are you feeling stuck in your job and unable to find a way to grow. Then this episode has got the answer you might be looking for. From being a doer to becoming a thought leader, From a data analyst to becoming CDO at a leading financial services organisation, Kshira Saagar demonstrates his passion to learn, his drive to apply, and his determination to help others, through his journey. He started his career as a Data Analyst after completing his BTech in Computer Science from India. Before he moved to Australia, he was heading Presales at consulting organisation. He had to start all over again in the new country. With right strategy and constantly striving to become his best version,  he rapidly grew in his career as well as the impact he was making. He was ranked as the #2 Analytics Leader in Australia for 2019. Also,   He has been ranked among the Top 25 Analytics Leaders in 2019, '20, & '21. He shared her life journey in the following phases: • Data Analyst to becoming Client Engagement Manager at Mu Sigma Inc. • Becoming Head of Presales at Mu Sigma Inc. • Starting his journey all over again after moving to Australia, and becoming CDO at Latitude Financial Service From this episode, here are the building blocks for creating the career that you want: • Showcasing what we have done • Communication • The value you are creating  • Helping others • An important part of building a career • Putting people first then profits • Creating value • Comparing value and impact • Flexibility and adaptability • Building association  Kshira Saagar coordinates:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kshirasaagar/  Personal website: https://www.kshirasaagar.com/publications  Twitter: https://twitter.com/kshira_saagar  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan
E27 -  From Chartered Accountant to Cyber Security with Anu Kukar, Associate Partner, IBM & Keynote Speaker
Nov 22 2021
E27 - From Chartered Accountant to Cyber Security with Anu Kukar, Associate Partner, IBM & Keynote Speaker
Do you want to switch career? Do you want to enter into management roles?   Then this episode is the answer to your questions.   From being a doer to entering into management roles, From being an Executive Manager to becoming an Associate Partner at IBM, Her journey showcases her passion to learn, her purpose to implement, and her determination to achieve.   Anu Kukar was born and raised in Denmark and has an Indian background. Soon after completing her graduation, she moved to Australia for her Master's.   She is currently working as an Associate Partner for Cybersecurity strategy, risk, and compliance in Australia and New Zealand at IBM and as a Director in Arascina.   Her 20 years of experience is strategically divided between Consulting and Industry which gives her the depth and breadth required to be the thought leader.   She has demonstrated her C to C, Chartered accountant to Cybersecurity journey in the following stages: An Accountant at Winn Croucher Partners A Client Manager at Deloitte An Executive Manager in Risk and Compliance at Commonwealth BankThe Director in Risk Innovation at KPMG The Associate Partner at IBM   In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Exploring all aspects of lifeLearning something new every dayAdding value in every job CommunicationNetworkingSwitching internally and externallyMindset shift from doing to influencing otherImportance of vertical and horizontal growthDirect exposure to the corporate worldAlignment of role and purposeUpskilling/ upgrading and its implementationAdopting diversitySocial eminence   Loved the way she explained who she is from her name: A - Advisor  N - Nurturing Talent  U - Untangling Risks    She has also shared a roadmap for anyone who is looking to enter into the world of Cybersecurity.   Anu Kukar coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anukukar/   Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan
E26 - Discovering The Purpose of Life with Chinmay Ananda, Financial Educator, Business Storyteller & Author
Nov 15 2021
E26 - Discovering The Purpose of Life with Chinmay Ananda, Financial Educator, Business Storyteller & Author
If you are struggling in finding the purpose of your life,  then this episode might be the right place to tune in.   From being a door to door salesman to becoming the operational manager of the company, From failing in 6 startup ideas to owing his full-fledged finance academy, His journey showcases his hunger to learn, his passion to explore, and his drive to experiment.   Mr. Chinmay Ananda started his career as a civil engineer. He is currently working as a financial educator for the last 10 years, mainly focusing on startup founders, and has also developed business analytical and accounting software.   He shared his life journey in the following three phases: An MBA student having a zill to own a business and lacking a proper directionA mid-career professional working in a corporate job and lacking creativityA financial educator having a purpose in his life   In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about Self-development Difference between need and wantConnecting the dotsImportance of learning every dayHow to learn from your failuresCommunicationNetworking Importance of building a brand Being authenticBeing focusedHaving a coach Chinmay has also shared 3 questions that can help you to have a deeper introspection of yourself.   Chinmay Ananda coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandachinmay  Website: http://www.financeacademy.com.au/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/faaustralia    Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan
E21 - Building First of Its Kind Fintech Platform in Australia, with Anto Joseph, CEO & MD of STROPRO
Oct 11 2021
E21 - Building First of Its Kind Fintech Platform in Australia, with Anto Joseph, CEO & MD of STROPRO
This is by far the most practical and comprehensive Career, Start-up and Business conversation I have had on the Empowering Indian Expats podcast At such a young age, Anto has demonstrated a very high level of competency and success both in his career as well as in running a business. Whatever be your ask... Want to build a career Want to be an intrapreneur Want to start a fintech company Anto has revealed valuable strategies, best practices, and mindset required to succeed. He shared the details in 3 stages Role1 at Citi - Private Banking relationship manager Role2 at Citi -  Vice President, partnerships Role3 - Founder of a fintech start-up STROPRO In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, you will learn about -Calculated decision making  -Networking -Developing confidence  -Upgrading your skills  -Building a brand and influence  -Collaborating for mutual benefits -Identifying business opportunity  - Starting a business -Enrolling others on your vision -Growing a business  -Establishing relationships  -Facing and overcoming challenges Loved his concept of being comfortable to get out of the comfort zone to build something powerful and his idea of legacy. Anto Joseph coordinates: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anto-joseph-22871885/  Website: https://www.stropro.com/  Email: anto@stropro.com  Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan