Hi Preetika, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us! Firstly, please introduce yourself!
I am Preetika Srivastava and I am a Data Scientist by trade, I am currently working with IBM Consulting. I am responsible for leading and developing data science solutions within the industrial vertical to various clients across automotive, oil and gas, defense, finance etc. In addition to that, I also manage and coach some of the young Data Scientists who are either fresh out of college or starting their journey in the data science field.
I am based out of Austin, Texas and I am a proud Longhorn alumni after studying at UT Austin for grad school. Outside of work, you can find me pursuing fitness and mindfulness.
What are you looking forward to at Women in Tech Texas?
This will be my very first in-person technical conference, so it is very special. First and foremost, I am very excited to share the idea and conceptualisation of supply chain management and making it more efficient using data. I am excited to share the simple but effective solution that has made a difference in the life of end users. I am curious to see what part of the solution piques the curiosity of the audience and if they have any feedback on the limitations we faced for a solution, and if they have any food for thought or supplemental ideas that help with the enhancement and improvement of the solution.
I am also excited to expand my network. When I see these incredible achievers in technology and leadership I cannot wait to meet them and learn more about their journey and stories. Some of them are role models of mine, so that is something I am really looking forward to and hopefully finding my future mentor and mentees.
What can attendees expect from your session?
My session is in the Frontier Tech track and will cover areas where all of us face complications with a strange supply chain, stemming from the pandemic. I am going to talk about how we can use data driven solutions to better manage the supply chain in these situations.
In addition, I will also talk about some of the Business Key Performance Indicators, which are useful and more practical for the end users who are actually utilizing your AI and ML. This session is for anyone who is looking to leverage data driven solutions for their better supply chain efficiency.
When you think about our theme for 2023, The New Frontier, what excites you about the future in tech, business and/or leadership?
This theme really resonates with me and I feel it is a very golden time to be a part of this industry. The key buzzwords such as, Quantum Computing, Augmented Reality, Precision 3D Printing and ChatGPT are disrupting lives for everyone, everyday. The potential it holds excites me for changing the lives of humankind for the better.
As technology and these new buzzwords are reaching everyone’s lives, people from more diverse and different backgrounds are contributing more to technology. I feel that innovation is happening at such a speed in technology, that we need diversity of thoughts to support this innovation. Only then we can make sure that it is happening for the greater good and will benefit everyone in society and discriminate against nobody.
What would be your one piece of advice to our attendees who might be feeling anxious about the insecurities of today?
All the insecurities and anxiety are valid. It happens to the best of us, it happens to your role models and your friends, so there is no escaping from that. We just need to embrace it and acknowledge it. One piece of advice I would like to give to deal with it, is to commit to the pursuit that you believe in the most. Go forward with that and persevere. It is always important to keep in mind that good things take time, so it is important to stick with it and commit to it.
Women in Tech Texas is built on community; what advice would you give to our attendees on building your network and furthering your presence?
Whenever you are reaching out to someone, it should come from a place of genuine connection. You should be generally interested in their journey and what inspires them and their opinions on the present and future. With that, I always suggest curating a list of people you would like to truly network with. There will be some people whose journey and story resonates with you more than the others, so curating that list saves time and gives you more clarity and puts more quality into your effort of communication and networking. I also feel that it should be a sustained connection. If you have pursued something interesting that may interest your network or mentor, share it with them. Keep them updated with small areas of interest that you think may also interest them.
To further your presence, you need to look beyond your day to day. Find an area where you think your creativity may make a difference and then find a community that is pursuing that same effort and show up. Once you start showing up with them, things become easier and your path and goals become much easier to achieve. It is important to build your internal and external presence.
Register for your place to join Preetika Srivastava for their session ‘Using Data and Decision Tree Leaf Nodes To Increase Accuracy in Planning and Decision Making’ at Women in Tech Texas on May 30-31!
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