The Steminist Spotlight Series: Tejal Munagekar, Managing Director, India

Empowered by science and technology, women are transforming the way we live and work—and they’re changing the world for the better along the way. Our blog series, The Steminist Spotlight, celebrates these women.

The Steminist Spotlight amplifies the voices of the amazing and inspiring women in tech who are making history here at Navisite. As Steminists, these women have the power to inspire the next generation of female leaders to choose a career in STEM, where they can co-create the future and help build a diverse, inclusive workforce.

Catch up on previous Steminist Spotlights and read on to learn about our latest featured Steminist!

Meet Our Steminist:

Tejal Munagekar, Managing Director, India

Our next Steminist Spotlight features Tejal Munagekar, Managing Director, India at Navisite.

In this spotlight, Tejal shares her tech beginnings, role models and advice for the next generation of female leaders.

How did you get your start in tech?

I’ve always loved technology and was interested in being an entrepreneur. After completing my bachelor’s degree in commerce, I went on to earn a master’s in computer science. Upon graduating, I immediately got a job as an SAP consultant for Capgemini—and SAP would go on to become an area of interest and expertise for me throughout my career. My graduation helped me develop my business acumen, which went on to help me excel as a functional consultant.

Following Capgemini, I was an SAP consultant for T-Systems India and then went on to serve as a senior manager for SAP projects at Cognizant Technology Solutions. While at Cognizant, I was responsible for the company’s largest SAP customer, which led to a revenue of $127 million across three years. This success was supported by a team I built of 150 experts in all skills, located across five locations in India and three locations outside of India. In 2015, I joined Velocity Technology Solutions as an SAP practice head, and grew to lead India as the managing director at Velocity. Following Velocity’s acquisition by Navisite, I moved into my current role today as Navisite’s Managing Director, India.

Can you share a little about what you do at Navisite and what your typical day is like?

At a high level, I oversee the strategic development, delivery excellence and competency enhancement. I’m also responsible for talent acquisition and talent retention, along with all legal and statutory compliances for Navisite India. I focus on building high-performing teams as well as enhancing the customer experience and operational excellence.

To go one step deeper, I break down my roles and responsibilities into three buckets. First, I oversee all operations in India, constantly working on initiatives and programs that will drive scalability and innovation. Second, I’m responsible for ensuring all statutory and regulatory compliance. And last, but certainly not least, I’m a mentor—helping Navisite employees to be independent and accountable and all my teams to be successful.

What do you like most about your tech career?

The best part of my career is knowing that, by taking responsibility for the technology side of things (for example, managing infrastructures, migrating workloads to the cloud, providing application management services, etc.), I’m allowing our customers to focus on what they do best, which is successfully achieving their core business objectives and growing the company. I always enjoyed being a trusted partner for our customers and ensuring that I was the one hand to shake for all their IT needs.

Who are your women in tech role models?

As far as colleagues go, Betina Carlsen, who served as a customer-side VP IT head, was a huge tech role model for me. She showed me that to be a true leader, you need to invest in people’s success. She also taught me how to champion diversity in the workplace and support women around the world. I’ve also learned a lot from India-based writer Apurva Purohit and Indian businesswoman Falguni Nayar—both of these women are incredible leaders. Apurva’s words in particular inspired me: “Let’s not assume decisions for women in our team, but help them to take the right one.” This fueled me to encourage women on my team to go after opportunities they might have been apprehensive about.

What has been one of the proudest moments in your career so far? 

The proudest moment of my career, to date, was when Navisite asked me to lead operations in India. It was a phenomenal opportunity for me to prove myself, and I cherish it every day.

One other anecdote comes to mind. I was doing consulting work for a company, and when the three-month project was completed, the CIO recognized and credited the success of the project to our team in front of the company. It was a great honor, and a profound example of the value you can bring to a business in such a short timeframe.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle for women today who are interested in pursuing a career in tech?

I believe the biggest obstacle women in tech face is trying to master everything in their personal and professional lives at the same time—and then generating self-doubt and disappointments when things don’t go as planned.

Writer Apurva Purohit, whom I mentioned earlier, was quoted as saying, “Women can have it all, but will have to space and prioritize things during different phases of life.” This quote has stuck with me. Some days I feel great as a professional and leader, while other days I am in my element as a mother, and yet other days, I’m focused on being a good wife, daughter and friend. Whatever I’m feeling on any particular day is OK—and it’s exactly where I’m meant to be in that moment. The key is staying positive and giving every day your best.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in STEM?

If he can do it, so can she. Abilities, hard work, attitude, intelligence and opportunities are gender unbiased. But it’s also important to recognize these opportunities and use our best judgment to make the right decisions. I have a quote in my office by Mr. Ratan Tata that says, “Take all efforts to make each decision RIGHT!”

When it comes to leadership in technology, I would tell women to do two things: trust themselves and invest in their people. Employees know when you care about their success and have their best interests at heart, and as a result, you can accomplish anything together. I’ve gone through my 20-year IT journey following the motto, “People first.” I would encourage other women in STEM to do the same.

Is there one piece of advice you wish somebody gave you at the beginning of your career?

There are a few lessons I learned along the way that I think would be helpful for other women in STEM. First, don’t take failure or negative feedback personally. Doing so will cause you to become defensive, rather than using the failure or feedback as an opportunity to solve the issue and grow.

The other important thing I’ve learned is that work is a part of life—it’s not life completely. When we’re at work, we need to give 100%. But when we’re at home, we need to enjoy life, and that means taking personal time to do the things you love—like spending time with family, giving back to society, pursuing a new goal, enjoying a hobby, etc.

And last but not least, if you’re in a leadership role, it’s important to remember that you cannot make everyone happy, no matter what you do. Reflect on and acknowledge your victories, but don’t be so hard on yourself when it’s not 100% what you wanted.

What’s a fun fact about you that many people may not know?

I enjoy dancing to Bollywood songs!

Our Steminist Mission

At Navisite, supporting women in their STEM education is not only important to us—it’s vital to building the inclusive and diverse tech workforce the world needs. Our mission is to help bridge the gender divide and bring diversity to the technology sector by empowering the next generation of female leaders to consider a career in STEM.

The Navisite’s Next Steminist Scholarship

The Navisite’s Next Steminist scholarship program is designed to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM and close the gender gap in tech. Navisite’s second annual program will award three $10,000 scholarships to eligible female candidates pursuing a degree in STEM. For more information, visit Navisite’s Next Steminist Scholarship web page.