CEO Insights Magazine

Neeraj Bhople is a pioneering industry stalwart who spearheads the technological innovations of Seniority which is the biggest shopping destination for senior citizens. The recent pandemic outbreak has had an adverse impact on almost all the different industry verticals and when asked about how he helped the organization to deal with this unprecedented situation, Neeraj says, “During the pandemic, we realised that the senior citizens are facing the problem of loneliness the most. To tackle that, we have come up with a new concept of a senior citizens club called – Evergreen club. We host a variety of curated live and interactive sessions that are entertaining, insightful and helpful for them. We have received tremendous response to this and it gives us that extra vigour in our quest to cater to the senior citizens”.

In an exclusive interview with CEO INSIGHTS, Neeraj talks more about his professional journey.

1.Give us a brief detail about your educational background and professional background and how has it helped you in your journey so far? Also, how do you play a crucial role in the development of your organization?
I have done Engineering in Electronics from VNIT, Nagpur and worked with Infosys, TechMahindra, and Tata Communications in various capacities before joining Seniority Pvt. Ltd as the CTO. A CTO is usually thought of as a Technology leader. However, the role is much broader than that. He needs to think about the business direction, take prudent calls on which technology to use – without getting tempted to use the latest and the greatest. He needs to ensure that every rupee spent on technology is taking the company towards its goals, while reducing the cost of implementation and maintenance. The tech stack of any company has the potential to not just support the business but also come up with new ways of monetizing it.

2. An experienced CTO is often the oracle of technology within their organization. So, how does your experience help you to chalk out innovative business operations for the company?

Currently, at Seniority, I lead the Tech, Product and User experience design. Before joining Seniority, my experience has been in Telecom industry – having worked with Telcos across the globe. During that time, I evangelized and implemented/built various technology solutions. I have tried to use my learnings from there while working in eCommerce. Each domain has its own complexities and requirements. Finding them out, learning about them and ensuring that you are able to use technology to take the business ahead – is the key. Cross pollination of ideas from other domains gives you an edge and this wide multidisciplinary knowledge has also helped me a lot.

3. How do you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest technology, so that you could always steer your organization towards the zenith and going forward, which are the technology areas that you are planning to invest in?
As a technology leader, you need to keep learning. Things change very fast in this field. I read articles, not just technology but also business related to keep myself abreast with the direction in which things are going. I also attend conferences and webinars regularly to hear from industry peers and technology vendors. Assessing the trends against the business is a continuous activity. Of course, you can’t always implement what you want – due to other considerations but at least we get to know what is possible and what we can do in the future. Currently, our entire focus is on evergreenclub and we are continuously evaluating new tools to improve user experience.

4. In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction - both as an individual and as a Technology Leader? Also, can you mention some important awards and recognitions that you have received?
My professional journey has been very satisfying so far. Working with different organizations and in different geographies is an enriching experience. Learning how work culture and people differ from country to country and organization to organization is amazing to see. While there are all kinds of people, by and large I have seen that people are generally nice. I have been able to get so far in my life and career only because of so many nice people who have helped me through it all.

While enjoying this journey, the

industry peers have been very generous in bestowing upon me various honours and awards – that’s an icing on the cake and some of those awards include:
• Man of Excellence award – 2021 – Indian Achievers Forum
• 6th Innovative CIO awards – 2021 – CIO Axis
• Digital Transformation leader of the year 2020 award by Alden Global
• Inducted in CIO Power List 2020 as one of the most influential CIOs & Thought leaders, selected by the industry peers and fellow CIOs
• ITNXT CIO of the year, 2019
• Top50 Global thinkers in Digital transformation, Digital disruption, Fintech and Business strategy – according to Thinkers360
• Infoworld, Forrester and Penn State University Award for best Enterprise Architecture 2015
• iCMG Global Architecture Award 2015, 2017 for best IT Systems Rationalization.

5.Do you participate in any mentorship programs or give keynote speeches in conferences & seminars to share your industry insights with your peers?
Yes, I do. I participate as a speaker as well as a delegate. These seminars, conferences are an excellent way to share knowledge and also to learn so many new things. Learning and sharing should go on forever – that’s what helps you to grow. In addition to that, I decided to share my experience on digital transformation through my book that was published a couple of years ago – ‘How to kill your b/oss and get away with it’.

6. Are you a gadget-savvy person? Which are the apps that take most of your screen time? Also, tell us about your hobbies, favourite cuisines, and favourite travel destinations?
I do love gadgets. But more than that, I like to build stuff on my own – since childhood. I used to make many quirky things from cardboard, some electronics, basically anything that I could find and which didn’t cost much money. Now, my gadgets are mostly functional and fun. Most used app for me is YouTube to learn new random things. I like to learn anything and everything. I love cooking, I learnt painting last year and I am also trying to write a non-technical book. I love food – especially spicy stuff. Chinese (authentic and Indian) is my favourite cuisine. I have a food blog as well, www. waldorfskitchen.com. I have stayed in Amsterdam for some time and I love that city. But someday, I would love to visit Norway. Just to see the northern lights.

Neeraj Bhople, CTO, Seniority
Creating a unique path to success, Neeraj has never feared away from facing challenges and taking big business decisions. This mentality has also been a key driver behind his success in the corporate realm.