Empowering Tomorrow's Innovators: Ms. Vidhya Srinivasan's Vision

Ms. Vidhya Srinivasan, a distinguished alumna of IIT Madras, stands out as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring women in technology. Her story is not just about success in a male-dominated field but also about resilience, determination, and breaking barriers. Let's delve into her extraordinary journey as a trailblazer in the world of tech.

“Being in the industry for 20-plus years, I see a big need for students to have interdisciplinary skill sets,” Vidhya said as she shed light on the importance of interdisciplinary skill sets in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape. Drawing from her extensive industry experience, Vidhya emphasized the value in having a diverse range of skills, such as the intersection of data science and medicine, applications of data science in various sectors, and the integration of philosophy and computer science to address ethical concerns surrounding AI. Her advocacy for incorporating such multidimensional perspectives into academic curricula reflects her deep understanding of the evolving needs and challenges of the tech industry.

Vidhya's perspective on failure is a testament to her resilience and practical approach to challenges. “One thing I ask myself is...what's the worst that can happen? You'll be surprised when you actually break that down,” Vidhya said. “At the end of the day, we're all engineers. One thing we are really good at is breaking down and solving hard problems,” Vidhya added.

Vidhya encourages individuals to analyze the worst-case scenarios, break down problems effectively, and differentiate between decisions as one-way or two-way doors. By adopting a rational mindset towards failure, Vidhya believes in empowering individuals to confront adversity with confidence and strategic thinking. Her framework for navigating failure has not only guided her own path to success but also serves as a valuable lesson for others facing setbacks in their careers or personal endeavors.

Reflecting on her early experiences as the only female student in a computer science class, Vidhya said, “I had the honor and privilege of being the only girl in my computer science class, which was just a small batch of 29 students.”

Vidhya added, “I found it challenging to connect with my classmates. Group work and study groups, for example — often it felt like others avoided working with me and it was very isolating.” Despite facing isolation and initial rejection from peers, she chose not to succumb to self-doubt but instead sought ways to excel and grow in unfamiliar territories.

“I found strength from my upbringing. My parents fostered a sense of equality in me early as their only daughter. They always had the same expectations of me as they had for their sons, and never let me feel any different because of my gender,” Vidhya said. “Being an awkward 17-year-old, I felt really lonely and very different from my class.  But I knew I could either wallow in that feeling or figure a way to learn from it and let it help me grow,” Vidhya added.

“In the end, I found that the most important thing is to find positives even when I felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t just how to deal with it, but to find what I liked and valued. Looking back, I see it as a flywheel from that place of personal fulfillment. I would  look at a situation and say, ‘Okay, there's something I like here, let me do more of that.’ That outlook is what helped me thrive.,” Vidhya added.

Vidhya’s resilience in uncomfortable situations and her ability to find joy and growth amidst adversity exemplify her unwavering determination and adaptability —traits that shaped her successful career in tech.

Beyond her professional achievements, Vidhya’s journey as a mother of four and a woman in tech highlights the complexities of balancing career success with family responsibilities. She candidly discussed the challenges faced at home and in the workplace, navigating biases and expectations while striving for excellence in both spheres.

“As a woman in tech with four kids, life gets hard. It gets hard at home because you're a mom. My kids don’t need me any less because I’m busy at work. At the end of the day, your buck stops with you. After I had my first kid, I immediately felt a bias go up at work. For example, people assumed I couldn’t take on new projects or they would say they didn’t want to add onto my plate instead of asking me what I wanted,” Vidhya said.

Vidhya's acknowledgment of the support system, including family and colleagues, underscores the importance of community and collaboration in overcoming hurdles to achieve personal and professional fulfillment. “I am grateful for the extensive support I received from my family — my in-laws, my parents, and friends all helped me and continue to help me take care of my home and my kids,” Vidhya said.

Vidhya’s narrative is a testament to the resilience, innovation, and empowerment that define women in technology. Through her insights on interdisciplinary skills, resilience in the face of failure, thriving in discomfort, and balancing career success with motherhood, Vidhya inspires a new generation of women to pursue their passions in tech, break barriers, and create meaningful change in the industry.

Ms. Vidhya Srinivasan

2000/B.Tech/CS

Vice President and General Manager, Google Search Advertising and Experiences Google USA

Ms. Vidhya Srinivasan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from IIT Madras in 2000, before pursuing her MS in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Vidhya is a transformative leader and seasoned general manager with a career-long focus on applying technology to transform traditional business models across various industries, including cloud infrastructure, data analytics, ad tech, and digital marketing. She has held senior technical and executive roles at Google, Amazon, and IBM.

Vidhya currently leads the organization of engineers, data scientists, and product managers behind advertising on Google. Since joining Google, she’s led the transformation of Google Analytics into a mobile-first paradigm with AI-driven insights; the launch of the new Search Ads 360 with a new easier-to-use interface as well as new features and campaign types; pixel-less measurement for YouTube advertising; and cross-channel data-driven attribution and privacy-first investments in Ads Data Hub. Vidhya also helped launch and drive industry-wide adoption of Performance Max, Google’s first AI-powered goal-based campaign across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, to help businesses of all sizes achieve their goals.  

Over the last year, Vidhya has been applying her expertise in large-language models and AI to drive the development of new advertising solutions and formats. She is leading the evolution of ads in Google’s Search and Shopping experiences to align with consumer preferences, making Search results more browsable and visually immersive. Vidhya and her team also recently launched a new AI-powered campaign type to help social advertisers capture the engagement and action of billions of users across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail.

While at Amazon, Vidhya built and scaled Amazon Redshift, the industry’s first cloud-native Data Warehouse, and AWS’s fastest-growing service for many years. She also led the development and rapid adoption of AWS Glue, a fully managed serverless extract, transform, and load (ETL) service.

In addition to her professional achievements, Vidhya is an active contributor to the community. Vidhya is fostering diverse teams and is a champion for diversity and inclusion in tech, serving as a mentor to several female leaders at Google and in the community. For her exemplary Global leadership, vision in the analytics sector, commitment to excellence, and functional experience in diverse fields, including technology, engineering, product management, and operations, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer this award upon Vidhya Srinivasan.