Unusually for a senior executive, Satish has been successfully “remote-first” for years. Under his leadership, Thoughtworks Coimbatore has been one of our fastest-growing offices. Thoughtworkers rely on his teams for their tech infra, and many clients all over the world look to them for apps ranging from healthcare to IoT. 

One of Satish’s great passions is sustainability. Accordingly, he leads a lifestyle that is a romantic, post-retirement dream for many. He lives with his wife, two home-schooled daughters and dogs on a two-acre farm, where they grow their own food. The commute from his village to the office is two hours by car, so he keeps it to two days a week. Even fewer when his yoga-teacher wife has a busy week. And obviously none at all during the pandemic.

Satish’s leadership style is to be a connector. It’s crucial for him to see the good ideas bubbling up, so he stalks our team chatrooms. To ensure there are no silos, he has in-depth weekly Zoom sessions with members from each team, during which he reinforces their shared vision and emphasises what’s important.  

Satish would urge his fellow executives to invest in tools and processes that remove friction: when remote, people lose steam when they can’t readily find the info they need. Another top tip for remote work is to become good at giving feedback: most people want to improve and given a chance to reflect, do so. 

Remote work for Satish isn’t without its challenges. Conversations are less effective when it’s hard to read body language. Some clients are still years away from being remote-ready. And some team members risk burnout by blurring the difference between 11am and 11pm. Even so, he believes remote-first is the future; it certainly doesn’t come in the way of success, and is good for the planet.