At Berkadia, our success is built upon the talent and hard work of a broad, diversely skilled team. From graphic designers to loan closing specialists to product designers, each of our people brings a unique background, perspective and expertise. Their work allows Berkadia to remain a leader in the commercial real estate industry.
Today, we’re shining the spotlight on with Jitender Yadav, Product Manager, who sits in our Hyderabad, India office and works in close partnership with business leaders, customers, users, and agile teams to discover and define innovation opportunities to use data-driven insights to optimize Berkadia’s operations. Jitender discussed what most excites him about his work, what most excites him about Berkadia and what he sees on the horizon.
What part of your role are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about understanding and solving complex problems related to business workflows at Berkadia. It also relates to our product’s mission of making workflows at Berkadia simpler and more intelligent. It is amazing to witness exponential business outcomes created with the adoption of an agile methodology.
Did you choose CRE or did CRE choose you? What drew you to Berkadia?
I chose Berkadia and hence CRE. After pursuing an Executive MBA, I wanted an environment where I could realize my potential to serve as an innovation leader, while learning and applying key leadership principles. I was lucky to have known about Berkadia’s culture through my professional network. I wouldn’t hesitate to say Berkadia has been my best career decision so far.
What excites you most about CRE?
The scope and opportunities to innovate in CRE excite me the most. As a part of daily work requirements, we run experiments to understand CRE workflows and how we can make them simpler. The technology penetration in the CRE industry is at a nascent stage. With the help of Berkadia’s BeEngaged program, we are beginning to understand how start-ups work in this space and are identifying opportunities and solving problems. Such competitive intelligence makes my role more intrapreneurial in nature.
What is the biggest current challenge for CRE professionals in your sphere, and where are you seeing opportunities for improvement?
From my learnings about CRE industry so far, I conclude that workflows in CRE are complex and highly interconnected. For professionals in innovation, the biggest challenge in such situations is an ability to optimize the whole system and not just its parts. The parts of CRE workflows are often optimized by different products offering solutions to siloed problems. However, the challenge remains–how do we optimize the system holistically? At Berkadia we are mitigating this challenge by architecting and developing common capabilities that can be scaled across workflows.
What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself coming into the CRE industry? What is the best advice you have received?
If I could go back in time, I would learn to think holistically and systemically at the early stages of my career. I would also focus on networking with product folks in this space and explore technology opportunities in finance.
I’d share two great pieces of advice I have received:
“The best strategy for your success is to enable success of people around you.” This was offered to me by Sudipto Mukherjee, Berkadia Way coach and Site Director, Berkadia Hyderabad during a conversation with him on leadership and culture.
“In Product Leadership, it is not how much you know that matters, rather it is how much you want to know – so be a listener and be inquisitive.” This counsel was shared with me by a communications coach during my executive management program.
How has your time at Berkadia helped to accelerate your personal or professional development?
During my time at Berkadia, I have learned a lot about CRE and continue to further explore the industry. I have also learned immensely about leadership principles and how an outward mindset is so fundamental to being a great leader.
It is amazing to see Berkadia’s commitment to leadership particularly in terms of innovation and transformation in the CRE industry. When the vision is so clear, great minds can get together and make it happen. Rarely I have seen such a powerful and highly aligned combination of vision, values and culture that brings out the best in people every day at work. I am proud to be a part of this journey!
– Jitender Yadav, Product Manager