Interaction - Srishti Baweja, COO and Director at E2E Networks

Srishti Baweja has over 18 years of experience in finance, having first-hand experience in global accountancy and audit practices while working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Then she joined the Forex and Risk Management department of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with the Ministry of Oil and Natural Gas in the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell.

Since 2013, she has been a part of the management team at E2E Networks Limited, NSE listed, and a pioneer in accelerated cloud computing in India. She has grown from being a promoter at E2E and establishing finance functions as CFO in the early stages of the company to becoming a part of the board of directors and Chief Operating Officer.

Q. The challenges of being a woman executive in a top role.

It feels wonderful to lead E2E Networks at a time when Indians are leading from the front at a global level, especially women. We now have so many examples of women leaders before us - from Leena Nair of Chanel to Falguni Nayar of Nykaa to Devika Bulchandani of Ogilvy. The list goes on.

For us too, E2E Cloud is made in India, but made for the world.

There’s indeed very limited representation of women in top-level positions, especially in technology companies. Because of this, there’s limited access to mentorship and networking opportunities, which are crucial for career growth.

We are trying to change this by having more women join our team, at every level, including promoting them to leadership positions. In office, we encourage women to speak up, voice their opinions, and take a central role in our growth.

At the beginning of my career, the key challenge was breaking through gender stereotypes and biases that still exist in the business world. Women in leadership positions often have to work harder to prove their capabilities and overcome preconceived notions about their abilities. This has improved considerably over time in my case. And I’m trying to make it happen for every female team member at E2E.

Q. Educational Background.

My background is in Finance. I did my B. Com (H) from S.R.C.C., Delhi University, completing my CA in 2004. ‍

Q. Family Background.

I come from a family of professionals. My father is a Chartered Accountant and my mother is a Retired Professor.  My sister is a Chartered Accountant and my brother is an Engineer from IIT Kharagpur.

Q. Working in the male-dominated field of IT.  Does a glass ceiling exist?

The CTO and Chief Architect of OpenAI, which powers ChatGPT - the fastest growing technology trend in 2023 - is a woman, Mira Murati. Gerri Martin-Flickinger is the CTO of Starbucks. Urvashi Tyagi, after having grown up in India, now serves as the CTO of ResMed, a company that operates in 140+ countries.

I still feel that here in India, the progress has been slow. We certainly need more women in tech-oriented roles. Unconscious biases have had a huge role to play in creating this barrier.

As a woman, I always look for ways to support women in all departments of E2E Networks. We believe in equal opportunities for everyone.

Q. Hobbies.

I am fond of reading books, particularly spiritual memoirs and detective novels.

Q. Future plans.

My focus is on staying ahead of the curve and driving innovation at E2E. E2E Networks has proven itself to be a trusted and powerful cloud solutions provider and we will continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions with the best customer experience. We are enabling AI/ML companies and we see a promising road ahead.

High-Five: 

1. Your Fitness Mantra - Yoga, thrice a week, under the guidance of a teacher. Also, I make sure to go for a walk every evening.

2. Your De-stressing Mantra - 10 minutes of meditation every day.

3. Where do you like to shop? - I prefer to shop online unless my daughter forces me to accompany her to the mall.

4. Your favorite holiday destination - We do not get to travel much due to our demanding work schedules. However, two places stand out for me from our recent travels - Dubai and Uttarkashi, a small town located in Uttarakhand.

5. Five things you cannot live without - My phone, my Forest Essentials lip balm, a bottle of water at room temperature, a cup of masala chai, and my glasses.

Workday:

1. Morning activities: I like to plan my day in the morning, answer my emails and mark the actionable ones separately in the taskbar. I also note down what tasks I have to complete during the day on my writing pad.

2. Ist half in the office: The first half is usually spent with the team, discussing the status of various tasks and timelines. Also, I try to squeeze in the work which I have to do myself.

3. Post Lunch: After lunch, I prefer to do all the meetings with clients as well as take interviews for our hiring requirements.

4. How you spend your evenings: I catch up on the queries of the team in the evening, and spend some time reviewing documents and processes. I also make sure to mark ‘done’ against the completed actionable on my taskbar and writing pad.