[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":246},["ShallowReactive",2],{"about":3,"profile":191,"timeline":202},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":169,"extension":183,"meta":184,"navigation":185,"path":186,"seo":187,"stem":188,"subtitle":189,"__hash__":190},"about\u002Fabout\u002Fprinciples.md","About",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":168},"minimark",[9,14,18,26,29,33,38,50,54,57,61,64,68,71,75,78,82,104,108,149,155,161],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"the-short-version","The short version",[15,16,17],"p",{},"I've spent twenty-five years inside enterprise technology, from a single\ncontributor in 1998 to Chief Technology and AI Officer at Zettamine today, after leading\nengineering as Managing Partner at Brane Enterprises, with stops as a\nDistinguished Engineer at DXC, Practice Head at Yash, and Consultant at Satyam\nwhere I helped roll out SAP Globe for Nestle Switzerland.",[15,19,20,21,25],{},"What I'm doing now is different. I've moved my focus deliberately to ",[22,23,24],"strong",{},"building\nAI systems",", agentic platforms, fine-tuned models, multimodal interfaces and\nRAG architectures, using the executive years as ballast, not identity.",[15,27,28],{},"The shorthand: I was a generalist exec who designed and ran big things.\nToday I'm an AI builder who knows how big things actually work.",[10,30,32],{"id":31},"principles-i-keep-coming-back-to","Principles I keep coming back to",[34,35,37],"h3",{"id":36},"_1-architecture-is-a-series-of-bets-not-a-diagram","1. Architecture is a series of bets, not a diagram",[15,39,40,41,45,46,49],{},"A diagram tells you what ",[42,43,44],"em",{},"fits",". A bet tells you what ",[42,47,48],{},"might break",". Senior\narchitects spend less time drawing and more time naming the bets out loud:\nthe failure mode, the latency assumption, the cost curve, the regret\nwindow. The diagram is a compression of the conversation. Don't ship without\nthe conversation.",[34,51,53],{"id":52},"_2-ai-projects-fail-in-operations-not-in-models","2. AI projects fail in operations, not in models",[15,55,56],{},"Most enterprises hire data scientists when they need platform engineers, MLOps\npeople, and a feedback loop. The model is the easy part. The hard parts are\ndata pipelines, eval, monitoring, retraining, rollback, governance, and the\norg change to actually consume the output. Architect for the second year.",[34,58,60],{"id":59},"_3-open-source-over-patents","3. Open source over patents",[15,62,63],{},"I've held this view for a long time. Compounding wins are upstream, not behind\na fence. Where I'm useful is in the design and the judgment, not in the\nhoarding.",[34,65,67],{"id":66},"_4-build-for-the-team-youll-have-not-the-team-you-have","4. Build for the team you'll have, not the team you have",[15,69,70],{},"The org you'll need in 12 months looks nothing like today's. Hire and architect\nahead of growth, not behind it. The single most expensive mistake I see is\noptimizing for the current team and inheriting their constraints.",[34,72,74],{"id":73},"_5-ship-the-thinnest-end-to-end-first","5. Ship the thinnest end-to-end first",[15,76,77],{},"A pipeline that works on one example end-to-end teaches you more than\na perfect component that doesn't connect to anything. This is true at the model\nlevel, the system level, and the org level.",[10,79,81],{"id":80},"how-i-prefer-to-work","How I prefer to work",[83,84,85,92,98],"ul",{},[86,87,88,91],"li",{},[22,89,90],{},"Deep over wide",": I do my best work when I'm the architect-on-call for a\nsmall number of serious engagements, not advising forty companies at arm's\nlength.",[86,93,94,97],{},[22,95,96],{},"Written before spoken",": I'd rather read a one-pager than sit through a\nforty-minute deck. Whatever we discuss, expect me to write back.",[86,99,100,103],{},[22,101,102],{},"Decisions over status",": Status updates are inventory. Decisions are\nvelocity. Bias toward the latter.",[10,105,107],{"id":106},"background","Background",[83,109,110,116,122,128,134,140,146],{},[86,111,112,115],{},[22,113,114],{},"Chief Technology and AI Officer",", Zettamine (Oct 2025 to present)",[86,117,118,121],{},[22,119,120],{},"Managing Partner & Head of Engineering",", Brane Enterprises (Aug 2019 to Oct 2025)",[86,123,124,127],{},[22,125,126],{},"Director & Distinguished Engineer",", DXC Technologies (Jun 2012 to Aug 2019)",[86,129,130,133],{},[22,131,132],{},"Practice Head",", Yash Technologies (Sep 2008 to May 2012)",[86,135,136,139],{},[22,137,138],{},"Consultant (FLCL)",", Satyam Computer Services (Jan 2005 to Sep 2008)",[86,141,142,145],{},[22,143,144],{},"Nodal Officer",", Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India (Sep 2001 to Dec 2004)",[86,147,148],{},"Earlier: Business Software Solutions, eInfoSystems (1998 to 2001)",[15,150,151,154],{},[22,152,153],{},"Education:"," Executive Leadership Program, Duke Fuqua University · MSc Computers,\nAndhra University · TOGAF 8, PMP, CISM, CSM, ITIL, Six Sigma Black Belt",[15,156,157,160],{},[22,158,159],{},"Recognition:"," DXC Distinguished Engineer (2018) · CSC Distinguished Engineer (2015) ·\nCSC Horizon Award (2014) · Technology Innovation Award from the Cabinet Minister\nfor Shipping (2002) · T. Swamy Babu Medal from APJ Kalam (1998)",[15,162,163],{},[164,165,167],"a",{"href":166},"\u002Fresume.pdf","Download full résumé",{"title":169,"searchDepth":170,"depth":170,"links":171},"",3,[172,174,181,182],{"id":12,"depth":173,"text":13},2,{"id":31,"depth":173,"text":32,"children":175},[176,177,178,179,180],{"id":36,"depth":170,"text":37},{"id":52,"depth":170,"text":53},{"id":59,"depth":170,"text":60},{"id":66,"depth":170,"text":67},{"id":73,"depth":170,"text":74},{"id":80,"depth":173,"text":81},{"id":106,"depth":173,"text":107},"md",{},true,"\u002Fabout\u002Fprinciples",{"title":5,"description":169},"about\u002Fprinciples","How I think about technology, leadership, and AI","88v2Z6faoPovbn-daFYV9s8WQsMAonhNHYVSa2mwYSQ",{"name":192,"role":193,"tagline":194,"location":195,"contact":196},"Sankar Vema","AI Builder & Architect of Agentic Systems","I help enterprise leaders turn AI ambition into capability that actually ships.","India · open to global advisory engagements",{"email":197,"linkedin":198,"github":199,"blog":200,"twitter":201},"sankar.vema@gmail.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fsankarvema\u002F","http:\u002F\u002Fsankarvema.github.io\u002F","http:\u002F\u002Fsankarvema.blogspot.com\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fsansvema",{"id":203,"entries":204,"extension":242,"meta":243,"stem":244,"__hash__":245},"timeline\u002Fabout\u002Ftimeline.yml",[205,210,213,217,221,225,229,234,238],{"year":206,"role":207,"company":208,"note":209},1998,"Software Engineer","eInfoSystems","First job. T. Swamy Babu Medal from APJ Kalam the same year.",{"year":211,"role":207,"company":212},2000,"Business Software Solutions",{"year":214,"role":144,"company":215,"note":216},2001,"Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India","First leadership posting. Technology Innovation Award from the Cabinet Minister for Shipping (2002).",{"year":218,"role":138,"company":219,"note":220},2005,"Satyam Computer Services","SAP Globe Template rollout for Nestle, Switzerland. P&L ownership of $5M USD across AMS and Testing Services. Teams scaled to 250+.",{"year":222,"role":132,"company":223,"note":224},2008,"Yash Technologies","Built MS Dynamics and SharePoint consulting practices from zero.",{"year":226,"role":126,"company":227,"note":228},2012,"DXC Technologies","Account CTO for AT&T and Zurich Insurance. Built solutioning labs in AI, AR\u002FVR, Drones, Blockchain, IoT. CSC Horizon Award (2014). CSC Distinguished Engineer (2015). DXC Distinguished Engineer (2018).",{"year":230,"role":231,"company":232,"note":233},2019,"Managing Partner, Head of Engineering","Brane Enterprises","Built engineering org of 280+ leaders including 42 in AI \u002F NextGen. End-to-end ownership of a global software platform.",{"year":235,"role":236,"company":232,"note":237},2024,"AI Architect (multiple shipped products)","Real-time audio-video human-interaction agents. No-code AI platform. Enterprise Digital Twin. Custom LLM fine-tuning with RAG. The Natural Solution Language (NSL) deep-tech programme.",{"year":239,"role":114,"company":240,"note":241},2025,"Zettamine","Reviving Zettamine into an AI and SAP product studio; building DigiHire.ai and GuildTrek. A public flip toward AI building, advisory and founder mentorship.","yml",{},"about\u002Ftimeline","exxE_O55ZeHvY9jN3SPON8YOkG2UnwvR7kJ6pLC_G1U",1790601541588]