Accidental Start to an AI-Era Technology Leader with Vijaya Kadiyala

My guest today is Vijays Kadiala, ,Executive Director  for Architecture, Engineering, AI, Data, Cloud in DBS Tech India talks about his accidental start to an AI Era tech leader who’s defining mantra has been Every role has an expiration date! Conversation highlights00:32 — 25 years of a career that wasn't plannedVijay introduces his journey across startups, TCS, Infosys, Capgemini, JPMorgan Chase and DBS, with data and data-intensive applications as a recurring theme.02:35 — From a two-bedroom startup to the corporate worldVijay recalls his unexpected entry into entrepreneurship after graduating with no job offers and describes the freedom, ownership and lack of bureaucracy that made those early startup years memorable.05:39 — Why he left the startupA fascinating look at how social and family expectations influenced career decisions in the early 2000s—and why working for a recognised IT company mattered so much at that time.07:57 — Has entrepreneurship become a label?Vijay reflects on today's startup culture and the difference between genuinely solving a customer problem and simply wanting to be called an entrepreneur.10:02 — Are GCCs really global capability centres?Vijay offers his perspective on GCCs, suggesting that organisations should think beyond the label and focus on what makes an India-based technology centre genuinely different and valuable.11:09 — The “expiration date” of a career roleOne of the central ideas of the conversation: every role has a lifespan. Vijay's approach has been to find a problem, solve it in roughly 18 months, create customer value and move on to the next challenge.14:19 — Make yourself redundantGayatri shares her own three-year theory, while Vijay explains why he believes professionals should constantly create enough value for their current role to become unnecessary.15:19 — Choosing the uncomfortable pathFrom production support to PL/SQL to data architecture, Vijay describes several career decisions where he deliberately entered unfamiliar territory.18:10 — Moving to the US as a data architectA new role, a new country, a new culture and a new way of communicating. Vijay talks about the challenges of his first international assignment.19:29 — Taking the biggest career betIn 2018, Vijay chose to move from people management into an executive individual-contributor role at JPMorgan Chase—putting his promotion trajectory at risk in the process.22:26 — You have to make the decisionA powerful discussion about career choices, risk and the importance of betting on yourself. Even a wrong decision, Vijay argues, can cost only a year or two in a career that may span 35–50 years.23:11 — Building a second identity through writingVijay explains how his leadership talks evolved into his first book and why his leadership philosophy begins outside the workplace.24:58 — What driving can teach us about leadershipHis unusual leadership framework connects everyday driving behaviour with leadership behaviours—how we respond to rules, pressure, uncertainty, other people and unexpected situations.26:57 — Writing with the help of LLMsVijay and his son began putting their ideas on paper and then using LLMs to help deve