New Rackspace Technology CTO talks innovation and lessons learned

“You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” This well-known quote from Apple founder Steve Jobs during his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address is one of many sources of inspiration in the long technology career of Rackspace Technology® EVP and Chief Technology Officer, Srini Koushik.

The dots of Koushik’s 30-year career in technology have connected to land him in his new position to lead our next innovative steps forward at Rackspace Technology. From Fortune 100 companies, to midsize organizations, to startups, the through-line has always been Koushik’s love of technology, natural curiosity and desire to innovate.

While at IBM, Koushik served as Vice President, GM and Global Leader for Hybrid Cloud Advisory Services. He worked with CIOs on the company’s transformation to hybrid cloud strategy, global services and e-business.

While working as President and CEO of NTT Innovation Institute Inc., a Silicon Valley-based startup, he focused on helping the company build multi-sided platforms for digital businesses. And while at Magellan Health, as CIO and CTO, he oversaw the company’s cloud transformation.

“I thrive on transformation and like to create something from very little,” said Koushik. “It’s exciting to be a part of a company that is transforming itself. Plus, the win-win for me is when I get to learn something new.”

Koushik discusses technology innovation and how companies of any size can successfully innovate with Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technical Evangelist at Rackspace Technology, on the latest episode Cloud Talk.

When asked about his takeaways from his many technology leadership positions, Koushik cited several, including:

• From his experience at IBM, Koushik learned to stay close to the technology and the people. “Building that into the DNA is critical for long-term success.”
• From his experience at the NTT Innovation Institute, Koushik learned the importance of flexibility in technology innovation. “Having a great foundation and leveraging flexibility allows a startup to accelerate projects and get them to market faster.”
• From his experience at Magellan Health, Koushik learned about the value of teams. “To move rapidly, we added 70+ AWS certified engineers to the team. Then we tapped into the collective wisdom of the group to drive innovation forward.”

When asked about his plans as the new CTO at Rackspace Technology, Koushik said, “What I love about my position now is the same thing I loved 30 years ago at the beginning of my career: technology.

“I’m absolutely fascinated about where technology is going now. There are not many careers where you get to see the pace of change that we see in technology. This acceleration keeps my passion front and center. When you combine technology innovation with people who are innovative, you can move mountains.

“The dots of my career journey are definitely all connecting in my new position here at Rackspace Technology.”

Cloud Talk covers topics like multicloud, digital transformation, containers and Kubernetes, IoT, edge computing, data and more. Episodes are short and sweet — around half an hour — and available from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and anywhere else podcasts can be found.