Executive Chat and Learn with Surekha Reddy & Ania Korsunska

About Event:
Join this Executive Chat and Learn with Surekha Reddy & Ania Korsunska, sponsored by
Women in Big Data Northwest chapter, in collaboration with the Technology Association of Oregon and Society of Information Management, Portland

The traditional career ladder is fading. Today's professionals want flexibility, autonomy, and diverse growth opportunities.

Our Executive Chat & Learn explores the "career portfolio" approach inspired by entrepreneurial thinking.

Participants will learn how to:

• Think Like an Entrepreneur: Apply an entrepreneurial mindset to identify opportunities, build skills, and create value.
• Develop a Career Portfolio: Build a diversified portfolio of skills, experiences, and relationships that can adapt to changing market conditions.
• Navigate the Gig Economy: Leverage the gig economy to gain experience, build networks, and test new career paths.
• Manage Risk and Embrace Uncertainty: Develop resilience and adaptability to thrive in a dynamic career landscape.

This session features a conversation between Ania, our moderator, founder, and entrepreneur, and our guest, Surekha, a former Intel executive who has also successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship. They will delve into the unique experiences and skills Surekha developed during her corporate career at Intel that prepared her for the entrepreneurial journey. Ania will then share her founder's journey, discussing the lessons learned from building a startup from the ground up and the strategies she's used to navigate the entrepreneurial world's challenges and opportunities. Together, they will explore leadership, problem-solving, innovation, building high-performing teams, and the rewards and challenges of transitioning from a structured corporate environment to the fast-paced and often uncertain world of startups. Participants will gain valuable insights into navigating the choices and challenges of their corporate journey to transition into entrepreneurship successfully.

Surekha's Bio:
Surekha is the Founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer at a stealth-mode AI startup, where she spearheads the creation of transformative Generative AI solutions for businesses.

Before this, Surekha spent more than two decades with Intel, serving in many leadership roles, most recently as General Manager and Head of AI Products. In these roles, she has proven her ability to build and manage high-performing teams, develop and execute strategic plans, and bring new products and services to market. She has also driven innovation and delivered results in various areas, including Analytics, AI, Enterprise Infrastructure and Hyper-Converged Solutions, Digital Transformation, Software Engineering, and Architecture.

Outside of her professional work, Surekha is committed to giving back to the community and making it a better place for everyone. She is driven by the belief that everyone has the potential to make a difference. Surekha is a passionate advocate for upskilling and community building. She has a long service track record, having held leadership positions at several non-profits, including her current roles as a Northwest Chapter Director at Women in Big Data & Board member and Director of DEI at the Society of Information Management, Portland.

Surekha holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from SV University, India, and an Executive Certificate in AI and Machine Learning from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Ania's Bio:
Ania is the Founder & CEO of Zemlia, leveraging over a decade of experience in interdisciplinary research, data science, user-centered design, communications, creative work, and community building. Her mission is to create technology that drives social benefit, empowering people to make better choices for their health, financial independence and environmental stewardship. At Zemlia, she transforms feelings of insignificance and overwhelm into empowerment and collective action through data. Her vision for a better tomorrow includes developing social network tools that give the power of personal data back to the user, using technology to help us become better at being human.

Ania has led numerous high-impact research projects, designed and conducted dozens of studies on knowledge sharing, information tracing, public health, and health communications, and has developed expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. She also spearheaded community-building initiatives, managed teams, and played key roles in major projects, such as the ROADMAP project, the first comprehensive description of rare disease drug repurposing, and served as the Community Lead at Climate Vine. Ania holds a PhD in Information Science from the Syracuse School.