Aishwarya Yadavally, a former architect and now principal product manager, has over a decade of experience in product development, primarily focusing on the telecom and fintech sectors. Her remarkable journey as a woman who lept from architecture to technology has made her a visionary leader who is passionate about empowering women in the field.

Aishwarya's unique journey exemplifies how different experiences can shape our futures in unexpected ways. Beginning her career as an architect, she found herself working simultaneously in the world of technology. This duality provided her with a unique perspective, one that placed understanding users’ needs at the core of product development.

For example, in architecture, every brick, window, and door serves a purpose. Similarly, every feature in a financial app revolves around the users’ needs. Aishwarya's transition from the world of physical designs to digital products was grounded in this very principle. Leveraging her architectural insights, she has mastered the art of delivering products that resonate with their users.

The transition, though, hasn't been without its obstacles. The financial industry has inherent challenges. Regulatory compliance, data security, and market volatility are some of the many hurdles professionals in this field face. There's also the intricate task of balancing client expectations, adapting to rapid technological advancements, and ensuring ethical conduct.

Aishwarya has not only been successful in navigating these challenges, but she’s managed to do so as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry—finance. She notes that the greatest challenge lies in understanding the needs of all stakeholders, an essential aspect of creating products that strike the right chord. Aishwarya’s current role mainly revolves around analyzing customer feedback to improve user experience. A project in a similar vein, centered on improving page-load speeds and significantly reducing customer-facing errors, led Aishwarya to be awarded the President’s Award at her organization. She has also earned the Leading Innovation Award.

Emphasizing that success in product management hinges on being clear about the expected behaviors of a project or program sponsor and understanding how the sponsors may leverage cutting-edge technologies, Aishwarya notes that one such example is one of her ongoing projects where she is overseeing the transition from the REST architecture to GraphQL. This is expected to bring a 50% reduction in delivery time while enhancing compliance via contract testing, a key goal in fintech.

Reflecting on her experiences, Aishwarya offers advice to budding professionals: "Remain agile, keep the customer at the center of your decisions, and maintain a strong focus on compliance and ethical conduct." She says that Networking is the key, emphasizing its role in fostering personal and professional growth. Moreover, she encourages others not to be deterred by challenges. Instead, they should embrace them as invaluable learning opportunities.

What's next for Aishwarya? Her vision for the future is as ambitious as her journey so far. She dreams of spearheading innovative projects and launching groundbreaking financial products that revolutionize the industry. But her aspirations aren't limited to innovation alone. Aishwarya is driven by a greater purpose—making a global impact. She envisions creating products that promote financial inclusion and sustainability, as well as addressing other critical societal issues.

In addition, having paved her unique path, Aishwarya hopes to guide others on their respective journeys. Mentorship is a role she deeply cherishes. By sharing her insights and experiences, she aims to shape the next generation of digital product managers in the financial industry. Furthermore, she is dedicated to actively fostering more women leaders by helping them balance the rigors of their personal and professional lives. This collective effort, she believes, will ensure the leaders of tomorrow are equipped to tackle challenges and create meaningful change.