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Informatica Corporation

How to EnterCompany: Informatica Corporation, Redwood City, CA
Company Description: Informatica is the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software, providing a comprehensive, unified, open and economical approach to lower IT costs and gain competitive advantage from information assets. Over 3,700 enterprises worldwide rely on Informatica to access, integrate and trust their information assets held in the traditional enterprise and in the internet cloud.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Asian Executive

Nomination Title: Suganthi Shivkumar, Managing Director, Asia

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Suganthi Shivkumar assumed leadership of Informatica’s key Asia South operations
in late 2008, at a time of global economic turmoil. Yet despite the challenging
economy she has been instrumental in driving the success of these operations to
new heights through hands-on management, careful restructuring, and aggressive
thought-leadership.

The greater Asia/Pacific/Japan region is an important growth market for
Informatica’s data integration technologies, and in her short tenure, Suganthi
has made Asia South – a large and diversified territory encompassing ASEAN
countries and India – a top contributor to the greater region’s growth. Hitting
the ground running, she examined historic Go-to-Market models to understand what
worked and what didn’t, re-thought team structures, and charted a model more
likely to lead to success. 

Despite cautious budget guidelines, she was able to undertake team
reorganizations and additions that optimized market coverage, helping the
company “do more with less.” This included implementing a successful channel
partner model that has increased the company’s leverage in this vast and
culturally diverse region. The switch from a totally direct sales model to a
blend of direct and indirect sales has combined with key sales personnel changes
and the encouragement of high partner activity to drive new growth.

Specifically, one of her markets grew a phenomenal >850% in just one quarter
when Suganthi was hardly six months into the job. In the same quarter, Asia
South also produced the top deal for Informatica’s entire Asia/Pacific/Japan
region – and that deal originated in a market with a developing economy beset by
the worldwide recession.  Other successes in her first half-year include major
deals in the public sector with major Systems Integrators in Indonesia and
Singapore as well as key commercial sector deals throughout her territory.
Suganthi’s success in such a short time is of no surprise to those familiar with
her track record at her previous employer, Hyperion, where at the helm of an
identical region she catalyzed growth far in excess of forecasts, year after year.
Importantly, Suganthi has also taken on the role as regional spokesperson,
evangelizing data integration and its criticality to enterprises operating in
today’s highly competitive markets. Her activities in this arena while with
Informatica have been an extension of similar high-profile activities while at
Hyperion. Along with producing more than 25 thought leadership articles in trade
publication and local business dailies, she has been a sought-after panelist at
data management forums and has been the subject of TV news interviews on
business issues.

With a leadership approach that has been called “decisive and appropriately
firm” yet “benevolent,” Suganthi clearly excels in helping other realize their
potential, and this extends to helping women succeed in the workplace. She has
appeared in Parenting magazines sharing tips for working mothers, and has
frequently spoken in women’s forums on leadership, juggling families and
careers, and cultural barriers to women.

Says Suganthi, “Life is not about how many breaths you take, but rather about
how many breathless moments you have – and you have loads of breathless moments
as a working mother and executive.”

List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

http://www.cxotoday.com/Events/Storage/India/CXOToday_Storage/Data_Integration_Helps_Achieve_Business_Goals/551-105095-493.html
http://www.spug.sg/forums/showthread.php?t=76308
http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=18990
http://www.cxotoday.com/India/Tech_Insight/The_Power_of_the_Platform/551-105792-1008.html
http://www.utvi.com/experts-opinions/market-experts-column/535/data_integration_helps_achieve_business_goals.html
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2009/05/25/stories/2009052550050200.htm

Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Suganthi Shivkumar joined Informatica in November 2008 to lead operations in the
fast-growing ASEAN and India regions. Previously, she spent 10 years with
Hyperion Solutions Asia Pacific, a leading provider of business intelligence
solutions, where she grew from software trainer to managing director for ASEAN
and India. She began her career as an auditor for KPMG Peat Marwick Singapore. A
certified public accountant, Ms. Shivkumar holds a Bachelor of Accountancy
degree from the National University of Singapore.

Recommendations For Suganthi Shivkumar ( Extracted from LinkedIn profile) – How
others would describe Suganthi :

MD- ASEAN/India, Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi is a highly committed and effective executive who rapidly rose through
the ranks to lead one of the fastest growing regions at Hyperion. She has a very
strong understanding of the South Asian and ASEAN markets and knows what it
takes to do business in those markets. To add to that she is a pleasure to work
with, I would welcome the opportunity to work with her again.” November 18, 2008

Rishi Diwan, Global Program Director, Business Operations, Hyperion Solutions
worked with Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Working with Suganthi was a splendid learning experience, She is always full of
positive energy and can motivate the whole team. She has got excellent network
in all major corporates and excellent management skills. She is down to earth
and above all a very good human being. I wish her best of luck in life and
career.” September 10, 2008

Nishant Vyas, Associate BI Sales(Hyperion), Thirdware Solutions
was with another company when working with Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi’s leadership was one of the key reasons for the success achieved by
Hyperion in India. Suganthi is very committed and leads by example. Her
functional knowledge coupled with her strong understanding of BI and BPM space
was a great asset in all the customer scenarios that we engaged in. Given her
passion for her work, the respect that she has earned in the professional world
is not surprising.” August 14, 2008

Bhavik Dangarwala, Head Business Development, Thirdware Solution Ltd
was with another company when working with Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi, It is generally said the right leaders are those who can bring in
balance between thinking and feeling; between heart and brain; between left and
right side of the brain, before meeting you I used to wonder are there any
leaders of such kind, but I have seen you working with such balances. You are
one of those who would not only them self stay focused on the objective but make
sure your team is being driven by objective The dedication and ease with you
used to handle few of the most difficult customers was some thing to learn from.
Your ability to network in the professional world coupled with your ability to
keep your self updated on what’s new in technical spectrum helps you to bring in
value to the organisation. Last but not the least, inspite of working on tight
schedules, your ability to maintain the work life balance helps you to remain in
close touch with your family and help inculcating the values you strive for in
your kids. I wish you all the luck and success for what ever you want to achieve
in your life.” August 12, 2008

Dinesh Chhabra, Practice Head BI / BPM, Thirdware Solutions Ltd
was with another company when working with Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi took over as MD of ASEAN at a difficult time but she managed to
overcome all hurdles to deliver consistent great results and even double the
revenue within the year. She has a good understanding of customers' expectations
and enjoy their trust. I like working with her as she always deliver her
forecast and is very proactive in resolution of any issues. She is a very
respected team member and a good leader.” May 26, 2008

Jason N H Yap, Snr. Finance Director, APAC, Hyperion Solutions
worked directly with Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi is an incredibly task oriented manager, who thrives on achieving
success through her people - her delegation and management skills have been the
reason for her success in her work. She has been instrumental in guiding and
coaching the APAC sales team and leading it all its way to success. She is
extremely influential and can get things done at ease. She leads by example and
is a great resource for any organization and the people in it.” May 20, 2008

Nisthar Izudeen, Team Lead - Siebel Analyst Group, Hyperion Solutions India Pvt Ltd
worked indirectly for Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi is a dedicated and focused business leader with a brilliant record.
She has a great capability to drive her team and maintanins high motivation in
all the people. It has been a pleasure to have her as a client and look forward
to working with her in the future too.” December 13, 2007

Shradha Kapoor, Recruitment Partner, Hyperion Solutions
was a consultant or contractor to Suganthi at Hyperion Solutions Asia
“Suganthi is a through professional with excellent vision and understanding of
the Business Intelligence space. She is an excellent thought leader, very
helpful, aggressive go-getter and is a delight to work with” October 11, 2006