Aspire Systems, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India: Sunil JNV

Essay of up to 650 words

Total 150 words used.

• Instrumental in evolving the business model comprising a framework of collaboration tools and operational methodologies that helped Aspire achieve ‘business as usual’ status in the early days of pandemic.
• Established a “Technology Consulting and Innovation group” that cuts across all practices, pitches at CXO level and focuses exclusively on digital innovation.
• Transformed vanilla product development and testing offerings to newer services along SAAS/Cloud enablement, DevOps, Modernization, Automation, Test & Behavior driven development, SAAS testing – resulting in service differentiation and new client wins 
• Managed the setback caused by the pandemic by adopting a conservative approach toward spending. The goal was to have a 3-month working capital at any point in time.
• Implemented Innovative recruitment models to enhance the joining ratio to meet the talent demand.
• Collaborated with HR and delivery teams to improve employee engagement through virtual events, family connects, knowledge sharing sessions, better onboarding experience, which helped reduce attrition.

Total 647 words used.

Aspire Systems is a leading global technology services provider. With a strength of over 4500 employees globally, we serve as a trusted partner for 250 customers in the US, LATAM, Europe, ME, India, and APAC regions.

We work under the leadership and guidance of Sunil J N V, Executive VP - Global Delivery, to keep our systems and processes agile and up to date, ensuring enhanced delivery capabilities and service offerings to our customers. From onboarding suitable candidates to facilitating them with the right opportunities, our innovative management practices have steered the organization and workforce to give us a competitive edge.

Promotion of innovative practices 

Comprehensive audit frameworks:  In general, audits tend to focus more on process compliance and less on technical excellence. At Aspire, Sunil introduced the Technical Health Index (THI) and Process Health Index (PHI) audits that measure the Technical and Process Quality of software deliverables. Technical audits done by an independent team regularly ensure adherence to best practices in all projects. These are vital in the Product Engineering space, which demands excellence in the quality of practices adopted in the SDLC. Audit results are also used effectively to make the performance appraisal of the team members more objective.

Enhanced cyber security practices, including Privacy management: Given the spurt in cyber-attacks, Sunil ensured robust information security policies/privacy controls be implemented to govern critical client information and employee data. Aspire exhibited its capability by getting certified for Information security/privacy standards such as ISO27001:2013, SOC 2 Type 2, BS 10012:2017, and HIPAA. Key to the overall cyber security is the Disaster Recovery (DR) models put in place to handle potential malware attacks.

Innovation for business success: Sunil promoted the idea of enhanced participation of the delivery and technology teams in securing business successes and introduced various roles:

• Sales Enablement Lead/Teams to provide a superior pre-sales experience for our customers. These technical teams provide support to the sales in the entire customer acquisition journey.
• Growth Partners and Growth Enablers who support the Account Management function by providing key customer insights that enable to position enhanced solutions/services.
• Geo Tech Partners, located in each of the geographies, mentor teams and encourage localized innovation.

Hiring & Employee Development

As we progress towards our Mission 200.X revenue goal by the end of 2023, we have been hiring more employees globally. Leveraging our innovative hiring strategies, we onboarded 1365 Aspirians in 2021. Sunil’s insights on projects and people development have created value out of intangible assets. Some of the critical HR initiatives that align with business priorities include:

Leadership Development: Programs developed to cultivate potential leaders:

• Fast Tracker: We identify potential leaders, develop their talent, and build a leadership pipeline through a structured program.
• First Time Manager: This program, spanning 3-6 months, helps Module/Test Leads transition from an individual contributor to a lead role. 
• Professional Certification: Meant to encourage Aspirians to get certified in industry-standard courses.
• Leadership Training for Women Aspirians: Employees with potential are trained to be future women leaders.
• Performance Potential Matrix: Implemented a 3x3 matrix for succession planning and assessing Aspirians’ leadership potential.

Training and Development: Key to success and growth is to enable existing talent to do better and give them more opporutnities.

• T & D 24: Aspirians undergo a minimum of 24 hours of technical learning every year and soft skills training on a need basis.
• Cross-training: To enable Aspirians to perform different roles and equip them to do tasks beyond regular responsibilities so that they can step in for assistance when needed in other projects.
• Building Teams Globally: Build talent ground up in other geographies by hiring college graduates in Poland, Mexico, and the US.

With his forbearing attitude and perseverance, Sunil has been able to infuse the organization with the desire to invest in new systems and processes. He has guided Aspire to be nimble and reinvent management processes to further our objectives.