In Conversation w/ Rachana Kumar (Etsy) - Building AI Focused Products
Rachana Kumar - Former CTO at Etsy https://techsylvania.com/speakers/rac... Elena Enache - Co-Founder & CEO Vesto 3D https://techsylvania.com/speakers/ele...
Chief Technology Officer, Etsy
Search every verified Rachana Kumar interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2020 fireside chat with the WomenTech Network, Rachana Kumar, then Vice President of Engineering at Etsy, discussed the company's transition to a public company and its early shift to remote work during the pandemic. She stated that going public increased accountability, requiring closer tracking of financial results and KPIs on a monthly basis. Kumar noted that Etsy was "one of the first big offices in New York to completely go remote" and predicted a future mix of in-office and remote work. She emphasized that leaders should remain open to change and regularly reassess processes, including hiring practices and team meetings. Kumar also addressed diversity and work-life balance. She said that "diversity of thought makes products so much better" and stressed the importance of diversity across gender, ethnicity, geography, and class. Regarding work-life balance, she described it as varying month-to-month and day-to-day depending on life phase and family responsibilities, adding that there is "no perfect balance." She noted that Etsy hires entry-level developers and bootcamp graduates, directing applicants to the company's careers page. Kumar spoke about the importance of leaders being present and emotionally available for their teams, particularly during the pandemic when employees faced increased personal and professional responsibilities.
Rachana Kumar - Former CTO at Etsy https://techsylvania.com/speakers/rac... Elena Enache - Co-Founder & CEO Vesto 3D https://techsylvania.com/speakers/ele...
In this episode of Aon at the Top, I sit down with Rachana Kumar, a trailblazing global CTO, product executive, and board director with more than two decades of experience shaping the future of technology and scaling hypergrowth organizations. We dive into what it means to lead through a business turnaround, how to balance data with intuition, and why the best career advice she ever received was "don’t reject an opportunity before it exists." Timestamps: 00:09:33 - Being the first generation of women in her family to work outside the home 00:14:33 - The 2017 Etsy turnaround 00:19:18 - Buildin…
When people think of Etsy, they picture a crafty online marketplace, but as former CTO Rachana Kumar reveals it’s truly a big data company built on cutting-edge technology and a deep social mission. In this episode of Soul of the CIO, Rachana shares her incredible journey from growing up in a small town in southern India to leading technology at Etsy. She opens up about: The mindset shift required to adopt new technologies How Etsy empowers millions of women entrepreneurs globally Why Etsy’s data challenges make it one of the most fascinating tech companies in the world How AI and machine lea…
Join Etsy to get the inside scoop on how to leverage Microsoft AI to solve real business problems. Etsy is an online marketplace for unique and creative goods, which connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world, but with more than 100 million items their challenge is ensuring shoppers can easily find the special items they’re looking for. Leveraging powerful GPT models on the Azure OpenAI service, Etsy has launched innovative experiences like Guided Search and Gift Mode, enhancing the user journey and search functionality. During this session, you will learn practical insights and…
These talks are organized by Plato (www.platohq.com). Plato is on a mission to help Engineers become great Engineering Leaders thanks to a community of Mentors from top companies such as Google, Facebook, Lyft, Slack, Trello, Netflix, Spotify, Digital Ocean, Segment, Uber... Sign-up to meet a mentor: https://www.platohq.com/ Or to become a mentor: https://www.platohq.com/become_a_ment...
Rachana Kumar is currently the Senior Director Of Engineering at Etsy, the e-commerce platform made for unique buyers, sellers and creatives. But Etsy isn’t like a normal e-commerce site with traditional vendors and inventory, the tech behind the platform is just as unique as the people using it. Rachana explains it all on this episode of IT Visionaries. Plus, she dives into the importance of creating a diverse workforce and doing mission-driven work. Key Takeaways: How Etsy handles the billion-plus data points generated daily Using machine learning to improve customer experience Wh…
https://www.womentech.net/speaker/Rachana/Kumar Rachana Kumar, VP of Engineering at Etsy, Leading Through Success.
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