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

E20 - From Humble Beginning to a High-Flying Career in Cyber Security, with Abbas Kudrati, a Multiple Award-Winning CISO

How did a B.Com graduate found his way up to becoming  Chief Cyber Security Adviser at Microsoft, APAC?
Not only that, Abbas Kudrati is also a Professor, Mentor, and Keynote speaker.
Abbas has demonstrated that life is full of Opportunities if you are willing to grab one.
His story starts way back in a small town in Gujarat named Jamnagar.
He completed his secondary education from Patna, Bihar, and moved back to Gujarat for senior secondary schooling.
In 1993, due to less percentage in 10th, he had to choose commerce over science.
But the love for technology drove him to do a diploma in IT simultaneously.
He used to attend B.Com classes till 12 pm, followed by diploma classes till 2 pm, and later in the evening used to do odd jobs to be financially independent.
After the completion of the Diploma, he was the first student to get placed on the campus.
Professionally, he has not only experienced vertical growth, but also horizontal growth.
He started as System Administration at BHA then moved to Hyderabad with one of his CFO's.
He got into a financial crisis after the 24/11 attack. 
So then he moved to Kuwait. 
And within 15- 20 days, he got a job in system administration.
He shares his journey of starting as Sys admin to multiple award-winning CISO and now the APAC Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft.
In this episode, You will learn about :
Networking 
Upgrading your skills 
Public speaking 
Overcoming self-doubt
Creating Impact 
Learning everyday 
Creating discipline
Abbas also shares his 3 tips for people in their 20's.
Abbas coordinates: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akudrati/ 
Website: https://aka.ms/abbas 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbas_kudrati
Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan 

E19 - From Battling with Cancer to Becoming an Award-Winning Actor, Model and CEO, with Saroni Roy

This is one of the most eye opening conversations on Empowering Indian Expats Podcast.It's an inspiring story of passion, grit, courage, and giving back...
Saroni Roy is a media and PR professional who concurred cancer and moved to Australia to build a new life all over again.
She applied for more than 700 jobs in PR and Media, without any success.She pivoted and started with a call centre job.
She was hit by another health issue that made her bed ridded for a while.During that down time, she decided to become an actor.
It's the same lady you see with baking outfit on Commbank ad.She is the first Indian model to win an international portrait award of its kind in LA
On defeating cancer,she shared her mindset and attitude of making best use of the time even if she had only 2 days to live.What hit me hard is when she said "cancer created sense of urgency to live fully the limited time we have on this planet"
On change and moving to a complete new place,She reminded that our body has memory. When you are in the same place, our body will respond in the same way and that it becomes very difficult to make a change.But when we move to a new place, body is shocked and change is inevitable.
On acting as the powerful tool to build self-image, She mentioned acting made her accept exactly who she was.It built her self image and her mindset.
She share many other valuable learnings On personal brandingOn grooming On diversification of skillsAdapting to changeBuilding ResilienceNot giving upStanding up for social causeChanging careers
and much more
This episode features a special message for people who are suffering from cancer and any other illnesses. 
Saroni coordinates:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saroniroyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/saroroy Website: https://www.saroniroy.com Ahimsa Peace Symposium 2021Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ahimsa-peace-symposium-2021-tickets-169309819227?aff=erelexpmlt Host Ehsan coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan 

E18 - Failing in School to Becoming an International Trainer, Author & Public Speaker, with Amandeep Thind

Failed in 11th, 
Got compartment in 12th, 
Attempted suicide at 16,
 
Struggled with employment
Worked multiple jobs
Almost got deported from UK
 
His life has been full of twists and turns.
He went through a lot of hardships,
Yet he kept his spirit high to fight back,
His willingness to help people remained high,
He continued to develop each day with a high level of enthusiasm. 
 
Amandeep shares his journey of consistently failing to meeting people who inspired him and then committing to transforming his life.
 
He mastered sales and public speaking.
 
He got trained by and worked with the world's best personal development trainers like Tony Robbins, T Harv Eker, Robert Kiyosaki, Dr. John D Martini, Les Brown, and many more.
 
He is now an International Trainer, Best Selling Author & Public Speaking Coach. 
He believes that everyone should be open to learning as there is always a better way of doing things. 
In this episode, he talks about 
His struggles as a kid 
What influenced him to become a public speaker
His move to UK and series of struggles until he met his mentors
Turning point – how he got his big speaking break
Starting his own business and now impacting lives
His future vision and long-term plan 
Amandeep coordinates:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amandeeplive
Websites 
amandeepthind.com  (Personal Website)
facebook.com/amandeeplive  (Portfolio)
tinyurl.com/y8xdfdrh  (Blog)
Email: amandeep23@gmail.com
Twitter: growthmantra
Host Ehsan coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
 
 
 

E17 - From building corporate brands to becoming a brand herself with Punita Parekh, Content Strategist & Influencer

Working in a high profile marketing job for 18 years
with brands like Time Network and CNBC,
Punita Parekh decided to quit, with no plans whatsoever.
 
Scary isn't it?
 
But she had enough, she was completely burnt-out.
 
And what she did is worth noticing and learning from.
 
She used linkedin as a platform to build a thriving consulting business.
 
In this episode, she shares the strategies, tips and learnings.
 
You will learn:
The 4C's of LinkedIn
How she overcame all the self-doubt
What was the first step after quitting her job
The importance of building personal branding
Why and how to optimize your LinkedIn profile
How you can put relevant content without spending too much of time
Benefits of giving
Power of collaboration
Steps to build your own tribe 
Time management as a solopreneur
Creating multiple income stream
Her next steps in growing her business
 
 She provides services in
Content Creation and Curation,
Website Content,
LinkedIn Personal Branding Content,
Social Media Content,
Blogs, Articles, and
Content Marketing. 
 
Punita's favourite sites for content generation: 
semrush.com
title-generator.com
feedly.com
Scheduling services mentioned by Ehsan
buffer.com
later.com
Punita Parekh coordinates:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/punita-parekh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/punitaparekh
Host Ehsan coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
 

E16 - A Career Wild Ride, with Shailendra Kumar, Technology Evangelist and Top Global Tech Influencer

My life is accidental.
I was so surprised when Shaily said this. 
How can one's life be so spontaneous!
 
Before diving any deeper, I would like to give some background of Mr. Shailendra Kumar.
He is a Machine Learning Leader, Evangelist, Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, and recognised as Top 50 Global Tech Influencer. He also got recognised as top 10 AI influencers to follow in 2021.
 
Till now, he has spoken at more than 300+ live events with Fortune 500 companies worldwide and has more than 200 videos of live discussions.
He's one of those few people who scored a little low in his 12th but ended up having a wonderful and inspiring life.
His current domains are Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science. His mission is to spread awareness about Artificial Intelligence.
 
In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, Shailendra orates about 
How he ended up doing 2 degrees at once and his learnings
Why did he choose computer science as his domain for graduation
His story of becoming one of the highest paid DJs in India, as his first job
His story of outstanding customer service bringing down the call drop to 1.8% which was the best so far in India by any service provider, and still getting fired 
Becoming the first person to bring Analytics to India 
Role of his mentor Rohini in his life 
Story and significance of choosing Belgium over USA and UK as the destination for his first assignment abroad
Experience and challenges in setting up his company in India
His move to Australia, advice from the community on the way to start in this country (was limited in its own way
His funny story of the first job
His outstanding contribution to 2 large retailers and then setting up analytics practice for Accenture globally
How he managed to write and publish the bestselling book in just six months and his inspiration 
The objective behind creating video content 
What drove him to perform so many roles in his life 
Book briefs:
Name- Making Money out of Data: The art and science of Analytics
Link- https://www.amazon.in/Making-Money-Out-Data-Analytics/dp/1547021748/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
About - This book contains all the projects done as a data analyst for over 2 decades. And explains how you can make money from data 
 
His tip for writing a book: Be very focused, or else the book will never get finished
 
His advice to people who are stuck in their lives:
You need to get out of your comfort zone. And try asking yourself whom I can serve and what I can do to serve them.
 
 
Shailendra kumar's coordinates:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaily/
 Business website: http://cognitivetoday.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meisshaily
Email: shailend.kumar@gmail.com
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ShailendraKumarS/
 
Host Ehsan’s coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
 

E15 - Building career in Industry 4.0 with Chirag Joshi, Cyber Security and Technology Leader, Best-Selling Author

Is the linear career paradigm obsolete?Have you heard of a portfolio career?
Been working hard but not happy with the growth?This week’s episode reveals some of the reasons why hard work alone is not the answer.
I spoke to a wonderful human being and a well-rounded professional,who also maintains a very good work-life balance. He represents the true successful professionals of industry 4.0Built his authority by leveraging opportunities that weren’t available that easily in any other era.
Chirag Joshi is a cyber security & technology leader and a best-selling author. He is also a keynote speaker and trainer. 
In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, Chirag talks about· Importance of guidance and mentorship in one's life · Influence to pursue masters in the states · How mingling in local society in Oklahoma shaped up his personality · Impacts of world financial crisis and 2000 .com bubble burst on jobs · Fascination for Cybersecurity and inspiration to write the book · Strategy and process of writing a book – guaranteed· Importance and process of building your own identity, influence and authority · His thoughts on expanding his career options beyond what he has already done
Must listen if you are keen on career growth - you will find loads of gold nuggets in this episode.
Finally, What do you think should be the career strategy in Industry 4.0?(where you have fierce competition with machines, and businesses say “machine first”)
Book brief, written by Chirag D Joshi· Name: 7 rules to influence behavior and win at cyber security awareness · Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07VPP71BN
· Focus: Human behaviour in cyber security. Since 95% of cybersecurity breaches happen because of human error, so Chirag focuses on changing the way people think and talk about cyber-security 
As he states in the end, " Beyond your professional career, physical and mental health's plays a vital role."
Books recommended by him· The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires by Brian Tracy· Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins· 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson· The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone· The Influential Mind by Tali Sharot· How to Have Impossible Conversations by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay
Breathing technique mentioned by him · Vim Hof Method: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/practice-the-method
Host pick on personal energy management: · The Power of Full Engagement by James E. Loehr and Tony Schwartz
Chirag D Joshi's coordinates:· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiragdjoshi/
· Personal website: https://www.chiragdjoshi.com/
Host Ehsan’s coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
#EmpoweringIndianExpats #Authority #CyberSecurity

E14 - Dare to lead, Fresh Graduate to CMO to Founder of Crikey, with Sheetal Bairamadgi

Graduate Degree, Masters, Certifications & more formal education Vs
 
 
Learning on the job
 
Doing what you love
 
That energises you
 
That uses your highest potential!
 
Check out Sheetal's story to find out what brings in success and fulfillment.
 
A fresh graduate in mechanical engineering, gets married and moves to Australia.
To utilise her time at home, she starts to learn the world of online marketing.
 
Falls in love with it.
 
Within a year, with no formal training or a certificate, lands an entry-level job in social media marketing.
 
From web advertisement moves to mobile advertisement.
 
Grows into becoming head of sales and CMO.
And, quits at the peak of her career -
to start her own gaming studio.
 
Don't forget to check the game her company created - Phone Case DIY
that has had close to 90 million downloads so far.
 
[Available both on iOS and Android]
 
Today, Sheetal is one of the very few female founders in the male-dominated mobile gaming industry.
Not only did she dare to enter this arena,
but she also proved her mettle in the very first year of founding her company
by building a game that went viral - 80+ million downloads
 
In this episode of Empowering Indian Expats, Sheetal talked about
 
-Why she was so inclined into this area of industry
-vivid experience of her 1st interview
-How and why, she transitioned from web advertising to mobile app marketing
-Ways to learn and grow in the mobile app adverting market
-Challenges faced by her in her career journey
-Proven methods by which she grew so fast in her career
-Why leaving the company to set up her own gaming studio was difficult?
-Why and how she started her entrepreneurial journey in the gaming world
-Her early days fear
-Role of good community/support in one’s career
 
Loved her answer to the question- what she would be doing if not what she is doing today?
 
Her message to all the people just starting their journey is
 
if you’re passionate enough,
nothing can stop you,
until and unless you decide to lose your passion.
 
So what do you say is more important for true success and fulfillment - DEGREE or PASSION?
 
Sheetal Bairamadigi's coordinates:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheetal-bairamadgi-7655507/
Business website - https://crikey.io/
the company mentioned by her
Crazylabs- https://www.crazylabs.com/
 
Host Ehsan’s coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/

E13 - Building and Selling business in two different countries, With Sunil Jha, CEO of Akiko Group

Do you feel that no fields are left for advancement in this fully digitized era?
 
To debunk this myth and to share his life experience, we have Mr. Sunil Jha for this episode of the Empowering Indian Expats podcast.
 
Sunil started his journey way back in the 1980s when companies like HCL, Wipro were just settling in the Indian market.
Over the last 35 years, Sunil founded 2 companies (one was sold to a firm before he moved to Australia ) and currently living in Sydney Australia.
 
At present, his areas of interest are market entry, business strategic planning, and implementation, business growth, and branding.
 
In this episode, he talks about
- What were the opportunities in 80s and 90s vs the opportunities that exist today
- Staring young as an entrepreneur and its benefits and challenges
- Importance of networking
- ways to improve your business in this pandemic
- Fields where there is a lot of scope of improvement
- Ways in which a mid-career professional can pivot in different fields
- Way to convert a rejection into an offer letter
- Importance of being an early adopter
 
In his own words...
"If you never failed, there is no learning.
And remember there are endless opportunities out there, you just have to find a way to grab them."
 
Mr. Sunil Jha's coordinates
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/suniljha/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/SunilKJha
Business website - https://theakikogroup.com/, https://www.akiko.com.au/
 
Book mentioned by him
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by James C. Collins
 
Communities mentioned by him
New South Wales business community - https://www.business.nsw.gov.au/
 
Host Ehsan’s coordinates- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/
 

E12 - Career growth is not always upwards, with Bhuvan Unhelkar, Professor of IT, Author & Consultant

I will have no regret in life if I fall dead right now...
It was 2012 and I had just acquired my Personal Trainer certification.I needed someone as a guinea pig to hone up my newly learned skills.
That's when Dr. Bhuvan Unhelkar trusted me and took the risk.😄
We were friends for a couple of years by now.
We started to meet at 5 am every morning in the field to jog and perform a series of exercises.
During one of those huffing and puffing moments, I vividly recall Bhuvan saying "you know what Ehsan, I will have no regret in life if I fall dead right now...."
Seriously? I had not known anybody who could say that. I still don't know anybody other than him.
Coming to the topic, Bhuvan has had an incredible professional life as well.
He started just like most IT professionals way back in 1982 The last IT job he had was that of the Product Development Manager at Dow Jones in Sydney.
Today he is a professor of Information Technology in Florida, USA. 
He is a thought leader and a prolific author with 24 books in his name. 
He is the founder of 2 companies.
He is an engaging keynote speaker and trainer.
Currently, his areas of focus are Big Data, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, and more...[I am afraid I can't contain his all interests in one sentence]
He ran his first full marathon at the age of 61 this year 
In this episode of the EmpoweringIndianExpats podcast, he talks about- Value of education- Career growth strategies - it's not always vertical upward, horizontal growth could be equally rewarding- Current industry trends- Learnings from his journey- Power of Community and Volunteering- Mindfulness and power of living in the moment- Importance of doing nothing in this modern busy lifestyle - Mentorship- People and books that influenced his thoughts and decisions - Beautiful discovery of zero - no starting point 
It surprises me to this day how he is so productive and still finds time for friends.
I am honored and privileged to bring his wisdom out to the world.Listen to the whole conversation ...
Get Inspired | Learnt a thing or two | Do Something great It's only one life and more than 90% of us is still unused potential😞
Dr. Bhuvan Unhelkar's coordinates LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/unhelkar/Email - Bhuvan.unhelkar@gmail.com Personal website - http://www.unhelkar.com/
Books mentioned by him Games people play by Eric Berne Freedom from the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti A search in  secret India by Paul Brunton India my love: Fragments of a golden past by OshoIllusions: The adventures of a reluctant messiah by Richard Bach 
People/ Mentors mentioned by him Prof. Anurag AgarwalDr. SD Pradhan Brian Henderson-Sellers
Communities mentioned by him Australian Computer Society - https://www.acs.org.au/Australian institute of business analyst - https://australia.iiba.org/Rotary International - https://www.rotary.org/enIEEE Society - https://www.ieee.org/Computer Society of India - http://csi-india.org.in/
Host Ehsan’s coordinates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/

E11.2 - A full Circle of life, with Ajay Unni, Founder and CEO of StickmanCyber

Failed in 12th exam …The same year Ajay Unni built software for a school that printed 3000 report cards for year 11 and 12 students. How did that happen?Much later, he shared his story in LinkedIn article “The joy of failure” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140603131707-5693854-the-joy-of-failuer/ That one freelancing work turned into a company with 100 employees.Yes, he did pass his year 12 next year and also graduated while building his business.Ajay ran his company from the age of 16 to 26 and then sold it to one of his clients.Worked for World bank for a couple of years in India.Then came to Australia for his masters. Someone who had once failed in year 12 was chosen to be the graduate speaker of his class in his masters.From freelancer to a CEO of a software company to selling it to one of his clients.  From CEO to an IT consultant to a master’s student. And, then from a project manager to CEO again.He shares what worked and what did not work in his journey of building a career and business.He also talked about his breakthrough moments, successes and support he got from various people.I was touched by his humbleness, authenticity, and willingness to share the vulnerabilities and challenges he faced at various stages of life.He is an interesting storyteller too, so you will get a visual picture of situations he describes.My #1 takeaway was to become comfortable with uncertainty – that’s where the magic happens! Listen to the conversation – it’s full of inspiration, fun and learnings Ajay Unni’s coordinates:Twitter - https://twitter.com/ajayunni?lang=en  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajayunni/?originalSubdomain=au  Company website - https://www.stickman.com.au/ Ehsan’s coordinatesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alimohammadehsan/