Namaste. I'm Prithvi Mathur. I'm a product marketing manager here at AMD. I'm also leading the incredible India employee resource group at AMD. Today, we are thrilled to welcome you to this special fireside chat with truly remarkable leader Jaya Jagdish, who serves as the country head and the senior vice president for the silicon engineering team. Jaya has been a true trailblazer in the semiconductor industry in driving innovation, growth and corporate responsibility at our India center. She also chairs the semiconductor talent building
committee for the India semiconductor mission, working closely with the government of India. With a career starting at AMD Austin in 1994, Jaya has played a crucial role in building a strong design engineering team. She has received various awards including raising women of influence by global semiconductor alliance and women worth watching from diversity journal.
We are very fortunate to have Jaya in this fireside chat today. Welcome, Jaya. We are very fortunate to have you as part of this fireside chat. How is your day going so far? It's going very well and thank you for this amazing opportunity. I think fireside chats are probably my favorite formats. It's wonderful to be part of this conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Jaya. I want to take you down the memory lane. I know you were born and brought
up in Bangalore, but I want to understand how your childhood was because if you are very successful, the incidents that happen in childhood actually paves the way for your successful career. I want to understand how your childhood was. What were some of the inspiring events that led you to pursue engineering as a career? Sure. I come from a middle-class family and as you said, I was born and raised in Bangalore, but my roots are of course in Karnataka, but rural Karnataka. That's where my parents are from. Both my parents are from a place called Baswapatna near Hassan. Of course, I spent my early years of my childhood there in Baswapatna. When I was ready to go to
school, that's when my parents were like, no, this is not the right place for our child to get the education and they moved to Bangalore just so that I could get access to better education. I am the only child, but also grew up in a very nice joint family. I never had that loneliness of a single child and I grew up with a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins. I had a very enriching childhood. There are a lot of artists in my family and also engineers and doctors. It was a blend of both worlds where I was exposed at a very early age to music, dance,
theater and also engineering and medicine and other scientific areas. What inspired me, honestly speaking, math and science were probably the only two subjects I was drawn to right from the start. I guess that decision was quite easy and of course, what also played an additional role was the fact that a couple of my uncles are even today amazing engineers and they kind of would talk to me about what they do at work. I was able to associate engineering as problem solving. I felt like engineering had the solution for all the problems in the world
and at that impressionable age. It was a natural choice to get into engineering and also the fact that even today, I am just so afraid to enter hospitals or can't deal with suffering, blood and all the gory things. It was a natural choice to get into engineering. I always tell folks, I meant basically you have leaders around you. You just need to open your eyes and look for the good qualities. Was there any particular person who inspired you, who molded
you like this? I have quite a few people within and outside my family who have inspired me and right from the start, I had this habit of observing a lot of things and anybody that I meet and kind of absorbing those good qualities and traits. Few people definitely stand out. One is of course my mother, who has been a source of inspiration and support for me right from the start even till even today. She had this courage to dream big for her only girl child, her daughter. That's something I take that as an inspiration and she stood by me throughout my journey. Same with my father, both my parents. One of my uncles, he's now retired as a professor from IISc. He was the one who truly inspired me to get into engineering. His influence truly stands out and there's one other person I'd like to mention. His name is Chayapati. We call him
Chayana. He was ahead of his times. He did not like the fact that the college professors who taught in colleges actually had tuitions at home, which was kind of a conflict and he started his own free coaching institutes, free of cost to underprivileged children. He lived in the same locality and he kind of pulled all of us to volunteer. I was in 12th and I would go teach 10th standard students. It was kind of a revolution that he started and he had a profound impact on my personality, I should say. He was my friend, philosopher, guide in many ways.
Amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Jaya, I know you came back to AMD. AMD was your first job. You worked at analog devices and then microchip. Mentor graphics. Why did you come back? Even when I was at AMD during my first innings, I had amazing learning opportunities at AMD. Of
course, I was a very junior engineer and the kind of exposure I got to complex designs and also what I learned I think was amazing. The only reason I left AMD was I was just curious to understand what else was there in the industry. I didn't want to be bogged down only with one company. It was more of that itch that took me outside AMD and when I moved back to India,
I moved back to analog devices. But when AMD was starting the design center here, I was more than happy to just come back. And the fact that quite a few people who I had worked with previously were coming, moving back to start the center. So that also was an additional reason. So I was more than happy to come back. Again, I want to bring back your college days. So you have completed your master's in electrical engineering. So you completed your bachelor's in BMS. So why did you choose US to do your master's and why did you even come back to India?
I mean, to be very honest, I did not want to move out of India. I was very keen on continuing my master's either with IIT or I was preparing for my gate entrance and all that. Of course, the marriage, my parents were very particular. I mean, soon after I finished engineering, of course, typical Indian parents, they just wanted to get me married and the proposal came and I was convinced by my family members. Look, education is something you can always pursue
there. So some of that worked. And of course, I got married and then moved to US. And you know, when we met, it was an arranged marriage. The only question I asked my husband was, are you sure a few years down the line, you are coming back to India? I mean, that was the only question I asked and he was a bit puzzled. I mean, you don't have anything else to ask. So I think that was something that was very important for me to come back to my roots. But of course, I'm absolutely grateful for all that exposure, the education and the work experience that I gained in the US. It's a great country of opportunities that welcomes everybody with open
arms and I've truly benefited from that. Amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Do you remember your first project at AMD? Yes, I do. It was, I think I had to run some spice models for a design. And my supervisor just gave me a manual. And then he said something like, there's this file you can look at. I didn't catch that. So I actually read the whole manual. And then before I could write a script to generate the spice models. And then he was probably
expecting me to be done with it in a couple of hours. But I was still, you know, going through the manuals even after two days and he said, why are you reading all that? I mean, you just had to refer to that file that I was, you know, that had everything that you had to know, and then just copy and paste that script, make some tweaks and you would be done. And like, yeah, that was a oopsie. But I think I absorbed a lot more than what was needed for the job by reading pretty much the whole manual. So it's a, it's been an unforgettable first project. Amazing. Were there any challenges during the initial days when you joined AMD right after your masters? I mean, the challenges were more of my personal side, of course, new job so much more to learn, and then absorb and then prove yourself. That part always exists with anybody or any job.
But what made it a lot more challenging was my personal situation. At that point, my husband was working for a company that had their manufacturing set up in Mexico. So he was, he had to kind of relocate to the border towns like McAllen. And then I, my daughter was hardly
a year old. And luckily for me, I was dreading, you know, leaving her in a daycare whole day and kind of picking her up in the evening. But luckily for me, my parents lived in San Antonio, and my job was in Austin. So I decided to keep San Antonio as my base. So my child could get that love and care of the grandparents. And I decided to commute. So that was a bit difficult. Of course, I got used to it over time. So I used to drive 100 miles both ways, each way. So that was quite
a challenge, wake up at five, get to, I was like a time machine, you know, wake up at five, get to work by seven, seven to four, I would just sit there, do everything that's needed, and then drive back and then reach home by six. So it was I did that for a little more than a year. But I guess it served the purpose. I mean, my daughter was happy with her grandparents, and I could go spend some time with her in the evening. So it was challenging, but it worked. I'm just imagining it's coming like a story. We always think the problems that we have is the biggest problem. But when I hear people like you talking about how you manage work, life balance, getting that harmony, this is very inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing that. Chhaya, you are leading
the Silicon Design Engineering Group and you're the country head. I know there won't be a typical day, but most of us are curious. Is there a typical day? If yes, can you walk us through that? Sure. Yeah, like you said, there's no typical day. I mean, every, I have a set routine, but there are many times it gets interrupted. But typical day pretty much starts around six, six thirty. And then I am a meditation practitioner. I try to do that regularly.
I think that's what helps me to keep myself centered. And I'm also a bit of a fitness freak. So I'm into yoga and I do some strengthening exercises. And all that goes on till about eight thirty. Then I start my domestic chores, either making breakfast or preparing for lunch. And I, my work actually starts typically at around ten o'clock, goes on all the way to till about six o'clock. And of course, I have meetings with US or other regions post that. But again, six to eight, I manage the cooking and other things. And by ten, most days by ten, I'm done. And that's when I have a little bit of time for myself. And I am also a Carnatic vocalist and I
love my experience with music. So I turn on the Shruti or the drone box or just listen to that. It brings a lot of peace and calmness into you. And I sing for maybe half an hour, forty five minutes. Then I hit the bed. Amazing. So now you have opened the
box of worms or I don't know. I wanted to ask you if you could sing a few lines. I know you have become a celebrity everywhere. I've heard a lot of stories about this. So if you don't mind, I would love to hear you sing. I mean, yeah, I'll try to sing a couple of lines. Charanadi Mahita Vaibhava Puri Takhila Dikta Te Sharade Karola Nidhe Sakala Navamba Sadha Jainan Charanadi Mahita Vaibhava Puri Takhila Dikta Te Sharade Wow. Beautiful to hear. See, that's the thing. Like when you sang this, my Kannada came out. I wanted to hear the entire song beautifully sang. For another time. I know. Yeah. Actually, I wanted to ask you about your spiritual journey that you just took in Himalayas.
Do you mind sharing that? Oh, yeah. I just got back. So it's all very fresh in my memory. And I'm super excited about, you know, the experience I had. One thing I tried to do to kind of rejuvenate myself, of course, I have a very hectic profession and responsibilities. So that's one thing I do every six months, I try to go to a health resort or something where nature is at its full glory and spend some time, either with a very close set of family members or just myself. So recently, I was at the Ananda Spa at the Himalayas. I mean, one of the most beautiful places,
I think the whole experience I was there for seven days, the whole experience was mentally, physically and spiritually uplifting. I mean, it's it's there at the Himalayas, which is called the devabhoomi. Right. I mean, so you're naturally you get into that meditative mode and you know, that peace and tranquility is just supreme. So I just loved it. And then I
didn't want to come back to this real world. And I'd love to get back there whenever I can. Why is it important for you to take that break? So, you know, we all kind of have a very hectic lifestyle, we just don't take time to introspect or look at, you know, what, what we are really going through, we get so lost. And, you know, I just feel like I'm just revolving around, you know, hundreds of things that we do. And at some point, you break down, you know, you can't just going like this. And every now and then you need to recenter yourself and kind of get back that inner strength and energy. I think that's
what I feel. I just feel like it's not just the physical aspect. It's more internal. I mean, you cannot be under stress for a prolonged periods of time. And, you know, your productivity drops, lot of things happen, your health gives up. So it's very important for me to get that. Just a few days are good enough if you can really focus on yourself and get that experience.
Thank you so much. I hope this inspires all of us to take that quick break when we are so busy dealing with personal life. Also, work is actually stressful. And speaking of challenges and stressful life, building the India R&D Center, it's not an easy job and reading that must have been super challenging. What were some of the hurdles that you faced and what were some of your strategies to overcome that? Yeah, I mean, building a design center for a company like AMD in a region like India and it started 20 years ago. It was not the same India or Bangalore that we see today. There were quite a few challenges. One was, of course, the talent
landscape or talent availability. I mean, we, of course, could not get the exact readymade talent that was suitable for AMD. And so which we realized the hard way. I mean, we were trying to roll out offers and not a single one fitted that frame that we had as requirements. So we kind of changed the strategy. We said, let's focus on bringing in smart, good engineers who have amazing
learning abilities and then who can actually have a great aptitude and learn what we can actually teach them. So we kind of started the interviews that we did were different. I mean, we would even give them a few textbooks and ask them to read these four chapters and come back after a few days. We would question them on conceptual understanding. So that's how we made sure, you know, we get in people who have a strong base and who have that learning ability and also the passion to pick up things. And we curated a set of training courses within AMD. In fact, the first few months was purely spent on training people who came in. I think that really worked well, especially with the complexity of our designs. I think that training and we were able to ramp up much faster after that. And that was on the talent. And the other part was also the collaboration
is such an important aspect. I mean, that's a great way for the new design centers to learn. I mean, not just the technology aspects, but also the cultural aspects. I mean, how do we make AMD India culturally compliant with rest of AMD was also a very important factor. But what helped was a lot of us who had previously worked with AMD, either in Austin or other locations, we were coming back to build the India Center. So we were able to permeate that cultural aspects that were very important. And also collaboration
became stronger as we sent the engineers to us for maybe a couple months to get trained, interact with other engineers. And then we would actually have people, senior people come and visit India. And that's when you realize no matter which location or region you are, you are truly an engineer. And that's the connection that was built. And collaboration then led to some ownership. And today, I think that's how AMD India has come a very long way. And prioritization is another thing. You have to be very clear on your priorities. I mean, on what's the work
you're doing, what project you want to prioritize. I think AMD as a company should be your top priority as an employee. Then comes your teams and then your individual aspirations. So with that kind of a prioritization, we were always doing things that were best for AMD. And some of those things really helped in getting AMD India as a true partner for global AMD. Amazing. I do have follow up questions on that. Basically, on the motivation side,
technology is changing, the world is moving faster. How do you keep yourself motivated and what are some of your learning techniques? I don't think I can honestly take credit for the motivation, the technology itself. I mean, what you just said, it's ever changing. There has not been a period of boredom or repeatedness. I mean, there's always something exciting that's out there for us to learn, adapt or reskill, upskill. And AMD has a very open culture.
I mean, there is a lot of focus and emphasis on learning. I mean, no one stops you from learning or picking up things or having a discussion with some of the technologists. So it's a very open culture. And I think that's what has kept me going. Even today, I look forward to coming.
And of course, you have your teams that you have built, you have kind of trained and you see them grow. It gives you immense satisfaction. I think that's my true motivation. Amazing. I can vouch for that too, like AMD having an open forum, having open culture. How do you envision the next decade for AMD and what role do you think you would be playing? You know, AMD has a great growth trajectory. I mean, you look at the technology world, there's a revolution that we are all part of. And whether it's AI or the associated businesses, I mean, there's huge scope for technology to change our lives, make a huge positive difference to humanity. That has been something phenomenal. And this will only get better
in the coming decades. And AMD India has already kind of become more of a center for global AMD. We work with almost every design center. And every BU has their investment here. It's a microcosm of overall AMD. So I see that continuing and India becoming more and more central to what AMD does. And then my role, of course, there is enough and more motivation and challenges for me to take on. For me, anytime I run out of challenges, that's when I get bored.
And luckily for me, AMD has not given me that chance to get bored. So I'll just continue playing my role in taking India and partnering with overall AMD. Thank you so much for sharing that. Very exciting days ahead. So we talked about motivation, we talked about challenges, and how important it is to be, you know, updated with the technology and having challenges in work that keeps you going. Are there any advice that you wanted to give to the young talent that we have, who are pursuing the management roles? And also, if there is one thing that you had known before you started your journey as a VP, if you would like to share that? Sure. I think,
when you're leading a team, right, or managing a team, you should, that's one aspect you should never forget, you are there as your leader, because you have a team behind you. So listening to your team is hugely important. I mean, you can't just have your voice all the time pounding on them, or, you know, you have to hear them out, you have to be ready to change your style for their needs. That's when, you know, you're doing your job as a manager or as a leader.
And the other part is with the ever changing technology landscape, you have to have your concepts, right? I mean, focusing deep down on conceptual understanding, it's not about just getting a job done. Right? What have you learned out of that? I mean, that's the question I would urge every engineer to ask, you know, this is when you get a task, it's a great opportunity for you to learn something, take away something. And that's the approach I would like to kind of have for every engineer, I would love for every engineer to have this kind of an approach.
And be ready to re-skill, up-skill constantly, otherwise you will stop being relevant. Right? Even at my level, I have to be up-skilled enough if I have to understand and do justice to my role. So it's the need of the hour. So being that open and also getting deep down into conceptual understanding and re-skilling, up-skilling and staying relevant, I think these are all some of the biggest learnings that I have got. And I definitely want to pass on a message to
some of the women engineers. We are still a minority, unfortunately. And it's on the onus is on us to change that. So I see a lot of talented women quitting their jobs midway due to life cycle changes, domestic responsibilities. I mean, I have been through my own share of that. And there have been plenty of situations that have made me think, should I give up my job? Should I quit my job? Take a break? But what has helped me is also that thinking of these challenges are short-term. But my career, my investment, who I stand for is a long-term approach. So, you know, don't give up your long-term aspirations for short-term
challenges. I mean, these are challenges that will pass, that will go away or you will find a solution. Develop that solution mindset in everything you do. Don't look at a problem as just a problem. Think of a solution and you will get it. There is a solution. So that's what I would like to say. This was much needed for me also. So relatable. And looking at a challenge
as an opportunity and being relevant. What amazing advice you have given, Jaya. And you also spoke about work-life balance. There will be challenges. So not giving up is a great advice for all the young female engineers we have at AMD or in general. My next question is, I know we talked about this. You didn't reveal that. Who are the top three people, dead or alive, you would like to have dinner with and why? You know, it's a long list of people. And to pick three was the challenge for me. But I think I have the three names. One is Ratan Tata. I mean, just that whole
leadership and the magnanimity he has. I mean, I would just like to sit with him and get some leadership advice from him. And I'm also hugely inspired by Steve Jobs, that creative energy of his. I'd love to, you know, have a dinner with him. And I think the third person would be my favorite Carnatic music musician, M.S. Subbalakshmi. Steve Jobs and Subbalakshmi are no longer in this world. But I mean, she has been a true inspiration, the devotion with which she sings and her music is
divine. So these are the three I would pick. Wow. I had other different names that I thought you would pick, more related to, you know, AI. But yeah, it's very nice that you picked one classical singer that could, I mean, we were able to hear, you know, that divine, you know, in your singing. So my last question would be, what one advice you would like to give it to all the AMDers? So, you know, be flexible. That's what is needed in today's world. And don't get stuck to the job description of your job. You know, your value, what makes you the most valuable player is when
you're ready to take on whatever is most important for the company. You know, being having that flexibility or that agility is hugely important. And it's also something that gives you the opportunity. I mean, I am today, I manage a large team. I probably, if I have a new problem, I'll pick the most agile, you know, person who will be ready to just run the thrift. You know, develop that trait and don't be bogged down with, oh, I have to just sit and program or I have to just do this work. I mean, the other part is not something I'm interested. So the whole thing is what makes
a product, right? Having that openness to learning doesn't matter, you know, if you can get your buzzword into your resume or not, that shouldn't be your focus. So focus on learning and getting that compromise. We are very curious to know, what's the fun side of you? Is there a fun fact that nobody else knows in the company? Well, I, there is one thing. I haven't shared this with
many. I actually kind of accidentally got into modeling. And I am not surprised. Not at all surprised. This was not something I planned. But I mean, the opportunity kind of fell on my lap. And I, when this was when I was in engineering, I was probably in first or second year. And I had this opportunity to model for a photo story that appeared in a very popular Kannada magazine Sudha. And so it used to appear in the center page. And I after doing that, I used to be very embarrassed.
I mean, I didn't want people to recognize me anywhere. I would just run. So and of course, theater is something I had the exposure because of my family. But that was a one time thing, stint that I did. And after that, I said, No, I'm done. It was an experience, but I guess I'm done. No wonder you are one of the faces of AMD. Do you still have those magazines? I have it somewhere hidden away. Amazing. Thank you so much, Jaya, your stories,
your journey, all the hurdles, challenges that you faced has been so inspiring to all of us. I know it has been such a busy day for you busy week, you just came back traveling, and you agreed to sit with us for this fireside chat. I'm sure this is going to be so inspiring for rest of the AMDs and outside of AMD too. I really want to thank you again for being part of Thank you, Prithvi, you have made this very easy for me. I didn't feel like someone was recording
what I was talking. I just felt like I was talking to a friend. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I want to thank AMD also for giving me this amazing opportunity to interview Jaya and share the wisdom with rest of the world. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
2024-10-26