The technology industry moves at lightning speed, but leadership wisdom doesn’t have an expiration date. As two women navigating the helm of Salesforce India from different generational vantage points, we’ve discovered that the intersection of experience and evolution creates the most powerful transformation. 

Arundhati: When I joined the State Bank of India in 1977 as a 22-year-old probationary officer, digital transformation was science fiction. My first three decades in banking taught me that resilience, strategic patience, and the courage to challenge convention were non-negotiable leadership attributes. Four decades later, when I took the reins at Salesforce India in April 2020—during a global pandemic—sceptics questioned whether someone from banking could truly lead a tech giant. The answer wasn’t in choosing between my past and the present, but in synthesizing both. 

Mankiran: I represent a different journey. My career unfolded in the era of rapid digitalisation, where agility and constant reinvention became the baseline. From Gartner to SAP Concur to now leading sales and distribution at Salesforce India, I’ve witnessed technology shift from enabler to the very fabric of business strategy. As a woman in sales, a traditionally male-dominated function—I learnt early that purpose-driven leadership and authentic team connection matter more than fitting prescribed moulds. 

The Wisdom of Years Meets the Speed of Change 

Arundhati: Today, I’m often asked how I keep pace with an industry that worships youth. I don’t try to outrun change; I pattern-match it. The YONO digital banking platform we launched at SBI wasn’t born from knowing every line of code—it came from understanding customer pain points accumulated over 36 years. When we transformed Salesforce India from what was candidly described as “a rounding error” into a billion-dollar operation in just three years, it wasn’t despite my banking background—it was because of it. 

My generation learnt to build institutions brick by brick. We understand organisational DNA, stakeholder management across complex ecosystems, and the long game of sustainable growth. What young leaders sometimes mistake for resistance to change is actually strategic discernment—knowing which innovations to embrace and which to let mature. 

Mankiran: What strikes me about working alongside AB is how her institutional wisdom creates a safe harbour for calculated risk-taking. My generation came up valuing disruption highly. We’ve learnt to pivot fast and lead with empathy in ways previous generations didn’t always prioritise. But there’s an art to balancing speed with sustainability that comes from experience. 

As a sales leader, I see daily how AI-powered CRM isn’t just about technology—it’s about fundamentally reimagining customer value. The difference in our leadership styles isn’t a gap; it's a spectrum that strengthens our organization.

Leading Multi-generational Teams 

Arundhati: One of my proudest achievements at SBI was engineering the merger of six associate banks—22,000 branches, 56,000 ATMs—in just six weeks with minimal disruption. That required commanding respect from leaders spanning four generations. 

I tell younger leaders: your speed is your superpower, but our scars are your shortcuts. Every crisis I navigated—from demonetisation to pandemic disruptions—taught me crisis management playbooks that no MBA programme covers. Simultaneously, Gen Z engineers taught me to think about customer engagement in ways that transformed my entire leadership philosophy. 

Mankiran: Early in my career, a coach gave me advice I still carry: when you are green you grow, and when you are ripe you rot. The curiosity AB demonstrates remains a humbling reminder of the same. I learn as much from our youngest team members about social selling as they learn from me about enterprise relationship building. What matters isn’t the generation you belong to—it’s your willingness to remain intellectually curious. 

When asked for an introduction, the description I often use is the sum of all parts—and that means balancing my role as Managing Director with being present for my family requires ruthless prioritisation and transparent communication. Being authentic means bringing your whole self to work—my experiences as a mother inform my leadership as much as my MBA does. When I advocate for flexible work arrangements or purpose-driven selling, it’s not despite being a woman in sales; it’s precisely because I am. 

The Uncommon Strength in Our Common Mission 

Arundhati: People often ask about being the “first woman” to chair SBI or enter tech leadership at my age. Being first is lonely, but it’s also liberating. You don’t have a template to follow, which means you can write your own. When an international publication ranked me among the most powerful women globally, it wasn’t just personal recognition—it was validation that diverse perspectives create better business outcomes. 

The Padma Shri I received in 2025 honoured contributions to trade and industry, but what I value more is the trail we’re blazing for women who’ll follow. Every time Mankiran and I collaborate, we demonstrate that generational diversity isn’t a challenge to manage—it’s a competitive advantage to leverage. 

Mankiran: What AB modelled for me—and what I hope to model for others—is that you don’t have to choose between professional excellence and authentic humanity. The notion that women must adopt masculine leadership traits to succeed in tech is outdated. Our industry needs empathy at scale, collaborative innovation, and leaders who understand that business transformation is fundamentally about people transformation. 

India represents tremendous growth potential for Salesforce, and our responsibility extends beyond revenue targets. We’re building an ecosystem where the next generation of women leaders won’t have to be “firsts”—they’ll simply be leaders. 

Looking Forward Together 

Technology will continue evolving at breakneck speed, but the fundamentals of leadership—vision, integrity, resilience, and the ability to inspire diverse teams—these transcend generation and gender. 

As baby boomers and Gen X leaders working in harmony, we prove daily that the supposed conflicts between experience and innovation, between strategic patience and tactical agility—these are false choices. The future belongs to organisations that can integrate all these dimensions. 

To the young women entering technology today: bring your whole selves. Your generation will face challenges we can’t yet foresee, but you’ll also have tools and opportunities we never imagined. Learn from every generation around you, challenge assumptions gracefully, and remember that leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking better questions. 

The road ahead is full of transformation. And we couldn’t be more excited about building it together—across generations, across functions, and always across boundaries that others said couldn’t be crossed.  

(Bhattacharya is President & CEO of Salesforce South Asia and a Padma Shri awardee. Chowhan is Managing Director, Sales & Distribution at Salesforce India. Views are personal.)