MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT

Shubha Ramnath

Director Engineering

PayPal

Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.

Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration throughout your career?

People and the rapport that we build while we work with multiple stakeholders, learning from others, and applying the knowledge inspires me. Observing how people navigate through various scenarios has helped me.

Personally my family – my husband has been a great source of inspiration and support to me. He has always helped me prioritize the time needed for my career.

Would you say your success is primarily due to luck or hard work?

Success has various drivers. However like a well-known saying “there is no elevator to success, take the stairs” starts with hard work. A bit of luck always helps climb the steps faster – timing, family circumstances, and access to education is important too.

What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?

An impact-focussed approach in what we do, helped shape the course my career took. I moved to payments from a different domain, the challenges and the learning is something that has helped me here and in the past as well when I have taken on diverse roles all through my career.

If given the chance to do one thing differently in your career, what would it be and why?

I have always paused when things did not shape up the way I expected them to be, understood what I can do better, sought advice, and moved forward, which has helped me. However, I would choose to move a bit faster next time to seek advice which I delayed in the beginning of my career.

What was your most favourite job/role and why?

I have been privileged to experience diverse roles and organizations in my career, so each of them has matured to be close to what I do as an individual. I like working in a startup mode – every opportunity to experience it is something I look forward to.

Do you have a favourite motto or quote that guides your professional life?

I will always remember this song from Dolly Parton “”Eagle When She Flies”” which says how a woman always keeps going from strength to strength irrespective of the tides. This helps to pause, re-think, and apply what is needed always.

Another quote that stayed with me from a previous company where I worked, our CEO used to say “”Let’s build a rock band, not just rockstars”” which exemplified how I look at teams and how we collectively create value.”