Inspirational Woman: Kshama Pradhan | VP, Head of India Digital Hub for Innovation and Engineering, bp

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

As Vice President, Head of bp’s Innovation & Engineering (I&E) Digital Hub in India, my role is focused on growing bp’s digital expertise and portfolio of technological solutions to advance the global energy transition.

The hub was established in 2021 and unites experienced digital designers, digital engineers, data scientists, and information security experts. The underlying objective is to advance digital innovation and the solutions needed to accelerate bp’s journey to reach net zero.

I’m now approaching 20 years as a digital professional. However, before beginning my career in tech, I initially set out on the path of finance. At university, I studied commerce before specialising in finance at postgraduate level where I focused on costing and accounting. I went on to spend thirteen years in the finance field, across various roles, after which I made my jump to a role in IT – and essentially started from scratch! I was inspired by how fast the tech space was growing in India, and I could see real value in the power of digital transformation.

I went on to occupy a range of digital-focused roles across different industries. I spent an incredible eleven years at Colgate, and also gained significant experience in businesses operating in the pharmaceutical and premium beverage industries. Finally, in 2021 I joined bp.

What are the core responsibilities of your role?

bp strongly believes that India has the talent to help reach our ambition of getting to net zero by 2050. In line with this, I am responsible for ensuring that bp’s Digital Hub in Pune, and wider operations across India, continue to drive digital transformation across the business. I work to cultivate and nurture strong relationships with the core bp business to ensure the Hub is strategically aligned to support the delivery of our business goals. This is particularly important for strategic decisions related to the digitalisation of bp’s business in India and other emerging markets.

Harnessing the power of our ecosystem is high on bp’s agenda. We are focused on growing our digital expertise and creating innovative solutions to advance the global energy transition. It is simultaneously exciting and challenging. Therefore, as we continue to grow the Hub, my role also involves working closely on government and community initiatives to build a positive presence for our Hub focused on serving local needs, which also aligns with bp’s global agenda. I believe that building and nurturing our partnerships with local universities, vendors, start-ups and authorities are all critical to maximise the Hub’s potential for value creation in India and beyond. I also oversee our teams here in India as they work in multi-disciplinary squads with the global I&E teams to deliver new products at scale.

Finally, as a senior leader here at the Hub, it’s my responsibility to embody bp’s culture and ensure that openness and collaboration stay at the heart of our work. Embedding empathy, curiosity, and inclusivity in our ways of working are all key to continue inspiring our teams and delivering excellence.

What do you love about what you do?

I love that my job enables me to keep learning every day. I get to learn about new technological solutions and more about my and my team’s capabilities. My ambition in life is to become the best version of myself, and I feel that consistent learning is an important factor in this.

Another priority of mine is being able to make a positive contribution to society, which aligns perfectly with my role. I take pride in the fact that I’m helping to put together and coordinate a team of innovators, who will eventually come up with the solutions to help accelerate change and drive bp forward on our mission to reach net zero.

I also deeply appreciate that I’m able to inspire others, particularly women, through my role as a technology leader at bp. I typically look for opportunities to serve as a mentor, where I can play a meaningful role and help others navigate and nurture their careers. This in turn has a positive knock-on effect and helps us build high-performing teams at bp!

What were the main influences on your career choice?

Despite my background in finance, deep down, I think I always had the desire to pursue a career in the tech industry. Interestingly, it was my experience in finance which helped me transition to the tech role of my dreams.

Early on in my career, I noticed when the finance world was starting to digitally transform, and shift from manual ledgers to ERP and other tech applications. At the time, I often found myself taking a leadership role to accelerate and drive this change internally by coaching people to help them feel more confident with the new technologies. For example, in a previous role at GSK, I eventually became a core team member to help implement technology within our finance team, and I developed training to help others adapt to the change. My peers would frequently comment on my passion for digital transformation, and I was proud to receive positive feedback from the training and guidance I was offering.

These early experiences inspired me to pursue this avenue of learning. I went on to seek out opportunities where I could play a more active role in my company’s digital operations and activities.

What advice would you give to people looking to pursue a career in tech, but who lack an educational or professional background in the digital space?

The digital space needs high-performing individuals who have innovation as part of their DNA and are unafraid of challenging the status quo in their every step. If this sounds like you, and you’re willing to dedicate time to digital upskilling and reskilling, there shouldn’t be anything holding you back!

At bp, we are always on the lookout for people with strong business process knowledge in their domains. We believe that it’s this kind of talent that will bring unique, innovative perspectives and ideas that will contribute to bp’s vision of reimagining energy. Our talent pool consists of diverse individuals, including niche subject matter experts. Although different, they all have one thing in common: we’re not afraid of innovation to improve the world and take current solutions to the next level.

The positive news is that, whether you’re looking for roles in engineering, digital architecture, or data analytics – there are a lot of opportunities available! At bp, growing our digital talent will be particularly important in the near future.

How important do you think digital will be for your business in 2023?

bp’s ambition – reaching net zero by the year 2050, or sooner – has innovation baked into it. The goal is motivational and certainly inspiring, but to get there, constant innovation has had to become our standard way of life.

The best way to drive innovation is through digital solutions. Digital is a key contributor to making an organisation more efficient, for example, through enhanced automation and process improvements. This frees up more time for creative problem-solving and larger-scale innovative thinking. Even during my early experiences in finance, I recognised the extent to which leveraging technology can benefit a business.

At bp, we’ve already harnessed the power of digital through bp’s investments to establish Digital Teams around the world and connect these very closely with the wider business operations. In 2023, we plan to continue to nurture these teams of innovators to help propel us toward bp’s mission for carbon neutrality.

What has been your experience as a female in a traditionally male-dominated industry?

I’ve been fortunate to only work with organisations where diversity has always been respected and valued. The focus that bp places on embracing DE&I is commendable. This encompasses diversity of gender, sexuality, disabilities and even expands to diverse career backgrounds. I believe that for any organisation to be successful, having diverse perspectives is a necessity. A diverse workforce better represents the world in which we operate, and therefore allows us at bp to drive innovation and deliver solutions with all people in mind.

bp promotes diversity at all levels, which I believe is why people feel so included here. It’s clear that all opinions matter. Unfortunately, I’m aware that not all organisations care about DE&I in the same way. To an extent, I do feel that individuals can attempt to drive positive change through their behaviour. For example, I have always actively looked for ways to promote women in tech by being an advocate for underrepresented talent in our industry, and now act as a leader in our space to further champion true diversity and inclusion in tech.

If you had one piece of career advice to give to your 15-year-old self, what would it be?

Stay curious! Technology is constantly evolving, so keep learning and stay relentless