Thiruvananthapuram: She was born in Germany, spent early childhood in Nigeria, started her career in Canada and later took up a government job in Delhi.

The Indian business community terms Suja Chandy as a global citizen. She will now head Nissan Digital Hub in Thiruvananthapuram. The facility is among the five plants in Asia, Europe and North America.

Still a local Thiruvananthapuram girl for close friends, Suja sees the new post as a sort of homecoming. She earlier occupied top positions in Invest India, a government agency promoting investments in India; PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.

Suja stayed in several countries during her school days, but completed both her school and college education in Kerala. After attending high school in Holy Angels’ Convent School, she studied at Mar Ivanios College and Rajagiri College in Kochi. Suja then went to the USA, but her first posting was with CGI, a major IT service provider in Canada. She later started CGI’s first global research and analytics unit in India.

In an exclusive interview she revealed her plans to Manorama.

1) From an organization like Invest India, you are moving to an digital-automobile industry. How do you reflect on this?

The move to Nissan Digital Hub has been quite seamless. My previous role required me to secure investments into the country across sectors, including automotive, and enable ease of doing business for investors – both domestic and international. India is one of the most attractive destinations in the world for greenfield investments and for Nissan, the Digital Hub in the state of Kerala, is the first Digital Hub to be set up across the globe. In my current role at the managing director of Nissan Digital India, my focus will be to establish and scale up operations for the Digital Hub to power Nissan's global digital transformation.

2) Could you tell us the story behind the association with Nissan?

It began earlier this year during a conversation with Tony Thomas, global CIO and Swami TV, global digital officer, where they shared the company’s vision of Nissan Digital. The auto industry is undergoing a radical shift and in the face of rapid digital technology advancement, Nissan is boldly engaging in digital revolution, reshaping IS/IT (information system / information technology) function into Nissan Digital. An opportunity to be a part of this global transformation and to lead the first global Digital Hub was motivating and exciting for me to join.

3) For Nissan this is an entirely new vertical, so what are the challenges, duties you will be undertaking as a country lead of Nissan Digital?

As the managing director of Nissan Digital India, my focus will be to establish and scale up operations for the Digital Hub to power Nissan's global digital transformation. Nissan Digital Hub will be the centre for development of Nissan’s software solutions, through the use of new ways of working and innovative technologies, including big data, AI, IoT etc. It will help us to build up our internal technology competency. In order to deliver world class solutions, it will be important to put a “best in class” team together and develop a good ecosystem locally.

5) Tell us about your current team at Nissan Digital Hub. What's the current size and how much more will be added soon

We are building our team up for new-age digital capabilities. Our target is to hire around 500 by end of March 2019.

9) Trivandrum is becoming a melting pot of various technology investments, What's your take on the potential of Trivandrum?

Trivandrum has a strong potential to become a leading global hub for technology. The Technopark in the city is the first in the country where we have some of the best and most talented resources. To add, the initiatives taken by the government to welcome global giants like Nissan by creating solid infrastructure, revisiting higher education curriculum to help develop skills that are most in demand by the industry and generally being open to the ideas that will help, not just the city but the state to attract and retain the best talent augurs well for the future. And of course, Kerala’s StartUp culture is second to none and we are seeing a lot of initiatives to support and promote these entrepreneurial ventures.

10) You have worked with two major consultancy giants, KPMG and PwC. That experience will be an added advantage here at Nissan?

I believe that every experience counts. The numerous years I have spent in consulting, public and private sector, domestic and international markets have been very valuable. From managing large scale multi-million dollar transformation engagements in North America to rolling out global knowledge management programs connecting an international network of firms on a common technology platform have added to my knowledge and understanding of the ecosystem. As a young consultant, one of the first things you learn in your career is to develop efficient and seamless processes that reduce the complexity and optimises the efficiency of operations. And that learning stays with you, which helps in any organisation or role you take on later in your career.

12) As a leader of an exponential technology company and a keen observer of investment and startup scenario, what's your message for the budding youth?

Keep your curiosity alive, stay hungry, stay focused. There are no limits to what you can achieve!

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