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Gargi Adhav
Director Engineering, Leading next-gen initiatives at Google Cloud
Professional Background
Gargi Adhav is a distinguished entrepreneurial engineering leader known for her extensive experience and expertise in cutting-edge domains such as routing and switching, social networks, big data, and analytics. She has dedicated her career to defining technology strategy and vision, empowering teams to deliver transformative and innovative products and solutions that drive substantial business wins. Gargi has a remarkable track record of leading cross-functional teams, fostering a customer-centric approach to engineering, and utilizing her deep knowledge to create industry-leading platforms that cater to evolving market needs.
Throughout her career, Gargi has showcased her exceptional leadership skills by managing large, geographically diverse teams. Notably, at Drawbridge, she spearheaded the development of an advanced Graph as a Service platform. This project not only enhanced system performance by 2X but also increased graph coverage by an impressive 3X and improved graph precision by around 10%, leading to a significant enhancement in the performance curve of the product. Gargi's foresight in technology and customer engagement has consistently led to impressive revenue growth and market expansion across her various roles.
As the head of a 100+ member engineering team, Gargi successfully delivered a state-of-the-art big data analytics platform alongside customer-facing analytics applications in an astonishingly short timeframe of just one year. This initiative projected revenues exceeding $150 million, with a remarkable 700% year-over-year growth and a 20% improvement in profit margins. Her tenure at Cisco saw her leading the strategic vision for the company's first-ever big data analytics platform, which serves as a single source of truth for a vast array of multivariate customer datasets.
Gargi's groundbreaking contributions have set new standards in the technology space. She is recognized as a co-inventor and pioneer of Non-Stop Routing, a pivotal advancement that revolutionized routing convergence on the Internet, enabling networks to achieve uptime of 99.999% – commonly referred to as “five nines.” Additionally, she has significantly reduced BGP convergence times from over 45 minutes to under 5 minutes, directly assisting Cisco in securing and retaining billions of dollars worth of Tier-1 service provider accounts. Gargi’s innovation-driven mindset is evident from her notable achievements, with 27 patents filed with the USPTO, of which 17 have been granted.
Beyond her technical expertise, Gargi is also deeply involved in mentorship and community engagement, contributing her knowledge and experiences as a speaker at various industry conferences, including IETF, NANOG, and Cisco Live. She has also embraced leadership roles in educational initiatives, serving as a coach at Dale Carnegie Training and taking on sponsorship lead roles for Asha for Education.
Education and Achievements
Gargi's academic journey reflects her passion for computer science and entrepreneurship. She earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University, complementing her technical foundation with marketing and entrepreneurship studies at Stanford University and Santa Clara University. She also holds a Master's degree in Computer Applications from the prestigious Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology along with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Delhi University.
Her remarkable portfolio of achievements includes numerous accolades and recognitions. Gargi's inventive contributions are illustrated by her array of patents and technical drafts. In addition to the 27 USPTO patents, she has authored 16 Internet drafts and has been honored with 19 Above & Beyond Achievement (CAP) awards, signifying her exceptional efforts and contributions to her field. Gargi's entrepreneurial spirit culminated in winning the Grand Prize in a Business Plan Competition organized by the California Program for Entrepreneurship, demonstrating her capability not only as a leader in engineering but also as a visionary in business.
Contributions to Organizations
Over the years, Gargi Adhav has made significant contributions across various organizations, amassing a wealth of experience that spans different sectors within technology and engineering. She has played vital roles at industry giants such as Google, Cisco, and Drawbridge, where she held positions as a Senior Director of Engineering and later as a Director of Engineering for Smart Analytics.
Her leadership at Drawbridge and Cisco allowed her to make profound impacts in big data analytics and routing technologies. Previously, Geragi also played a crucial role as the founder, architect, and CEO of a social recommendation platform startup, where she explored emerging technologies in social analytics, locality-based analysis, and intent-based recommendations—highlighting her diverse skill set in both technical engineering and entrepreneurial innovation.
Earlier in her career, Gargi served as a Senior Manager of Software Engineering at Redback Networks and used her wide-ranging expertise to cultivate technical teams and develop network solutions. She also contributed to the academic community as a Research Assistant at Purdue University, enriching her knowledge base and research skills during her formative years.
Throughout her professional trajectory, Gargi has remained committed to growth, innovation, and leadership, making her a trailblazer in the field of technology and engineering.
In summary, Gargi Adhav is an influential figure in the engineering landscape, embodying the perfect blend of entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and leadership acumen. Her career showcases a rich tapestry of experience across various facets of technology, where she has continually pushed the boundaries of innovation, fostered team collaboration, and delivered high-impact solutions that align with customer needs.
Achievements
- Developed Graph as a Service platform at Drawbridge, enhancing performance and precision.
- Led a 100+ member cross-functional team to deliver a Big Data analytics platform in record time, resulting in significant projected revenue growth.
- Pioneered the first-ever Big Data Analytics platform at Cisco, serving as a crucial data repository for customer data.
- Co-invented Non-Stop Routing, achieving 99.999% uptime for networks.
- Reduced BGP convergence time significantly, contributing to Cisco's market success.
Questions
- How did Gargi Adhav develop her expertise in Big Data and Analytics as a leader in engineering?
- What experiences shaped Gargi Adhav's innovative approach to routing and switching technologies?
- In what ways has Gargi Adhav's entrepreneurial background influenced her role at leading tech companies?
- How does Gargi Adhav envision the future of Big Data and IoT technologies in engineering?
Location
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Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
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