In this episode of Aon at the Top, I sit down with Rachana Kumar, a trailblazing global CTO, product executive, and board director with more than two decades of experience shaping the future of technology and scaling hypergrowth organizations. We dive into what it means to lead through a business turnaround, how to balance data with intuition, and why the best career advice she ever received was \"don’t reject an opportunity before it exists.\"
Timestamps:
00:09:33 - Being the first generation of women in her family to work outside the home
00:14:33 - The 2017 Etsy turnaround
00:19:18 - Building Etsy's culture of innovation
00:27:09 - Balancing data-driven decisions with intuition while staying connected to 1,200+ people
00:34:01 - Leading responsible AI at Etsy
00:42:14 - The best career advice she ever received
00:47:25 - How to lead through uncertainty
00:56:14 - Her 9-year-old son's question: \"What do you want to be next?\"
Connect with Rachana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachanakumar/
About Rachana Kumar:
Rachana Kumar is a global CTO and product executive with more than two decades of experience leading high-impact innovation, scaling hyper-growth organizations, and driving transformation in e-commerce, media and entertainment companies. Most recently as Chief Technology Officer at Etsy, Rachana led a sweeping AI and platform transformation, driving 5x adoption of generative AI, ensuring 99.95% uptime, and powering over $13 billion in annual sales and $2.8 billion in revenue. She managed global teams of more than 1,200 people, oversaw P&L responsibilities exceeding $1 billion, and expanded Etsy's global footprint as Managing Director of Etsy Mexico. She serves on the board of trustees for the Liberty Science Center and as a Tech Advisory Council member at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleward111/
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Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0L46j1vJo79LQC4LViO2KO
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