I have always wanted to speak to our podcast guest today to learn how he consistently maintains a smile while managing what I imagine to be a very high-pressure job as a global CIO for a top financial conglomerate. Let me welcome Pradeep Hegde (Global CIO for CLSA) to the podcast.

1. My first question for you is just that: every time I see you, you always have a smile on your face and you seem to be in total control of your inner world. Is that really the case and how do you manage that?
2. As a Global CIO of a major brokerage, what are some of the issues you are always juggling with? Are they different issues each time or is there an ongoing theme?
3. When managing these issues do you compartmentalize them so they don't interrupt you when you are having other conversations with people?
4. Do you have a stress management routine? If so, can you talk about it?

1. Could you please talk a bit about your background? Do you come from a family where academic excellence was mandated?
2. How did the idea of pursuing something in technology come about? Was it a strategic move or did you just choose something based on your interest at that time?
3. How ambitious were you then and did you always want to become a CIO?
4. What sparked the move to Japan from India in 1996?
5. For someone to ascend to the rank of being part of a C-level suite what are some of the requirements in your opinion? Is being good with people the most important quality of such a person?
6. Is it possible for a person who wants to be purely hands-on to rise to the level of becoming a CIO? Or does a person have to be a strong people manager?
7. How important are mentors in this regard and can you think of any mentor who has been crucial to your success?

1. Would it be fair to say that people management is the hardest part of a C-level executive’s job?
2. How can a person who is mainly focused on technology learn to people manage? What makes a good people manager?
3. When you are given more items to manage as a global CIO, you are expected to have a very broad knowledge of many things within the firm. How should one balance the temptation of going very deep in one area vs acquiring a broad set of knowledge in many areas?

1. What do you think are some of the growing trends within Banking Tech?
2. Is AI/Predictive Analytics really going to disrupt this space or is it more hyped?

1. What sort of advice would you give to budding technologies these days? Is a degree as important as it once was? Or, can one self learn the most pressing topics which universities don’t exactly teach? Like, for example, delving into one area like predictive analytics
2. Would you have any other comments or anything else you want to share?

I want to take a step back and talk about how you have gotten to where you are. Role as a Global CIOTrends in the industry advice to budding technologists