Finding New Horizons in a Mid-career Switch

In the May of 2017, Pallavi Talim, who was then working in a global organization in Mumbai, India, made a bold decision that changed her career trajectory. With more than 15 years of experience under her belt in the IT industry, she is ready to seek out new opportunities in a new-to-her sector. 

As a young girl growing up in Mumbai, Pallavi has set her sights on a career in the IT sector. A natural at science and mathematics in school, she went on to pursue a post-graduate degree in advanced computing after obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Mumbai University in 2000. Over the years, Pallavi honed her IT skills and knowledge to become a seasoned professional with experience working with customers across the continents.

The Big Switch

“Joining Johnson Controls was a major decision for me. It was my first ever move outside my comfort zone in the IT industry and frankly, I was apprehensive about making the switch,” Pallavi confessed. 

It wasn’t long, however, before Pallavi made the connection that technology was the common thread linking the IT industry and the global leader of smart and sustainable buildings. She was drawn to the company’s vision to make the world a safer, comfortable and sustainable place to live. The idea of developing solutions for smart buildings and smart cities was too lucrative to let go. Her wealth of technical expertise and management know-how helped segue Pallavi into her new role with Johnson Controls. 

Today, Pallavi is the senior engineering manager in Operations for the Digital Solutions group in India. In this role, her primary duties are to manage engineering operations, capability building and global program management. Working alongside senior engineering leaders, Pallavi helps set a framework that strengthens collaborative efforts within the group and provides a nurturing environment that encourages experimentation. “It’s part of my job to make the best use of my colleagues’ skillsets. I don’t believe in dictating the ways of working; I find that it’s more conducive to provide an environment where my colleagues can discover their own work styles,” she said.

Fostering the Innovative Spirit

Pallavi is also heavily involved in other organization-wide initiatives like Tech Challenge, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Campus Programs and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. She vividly recalled her first day at the India chapter of Tech Challenge that took place in Mumbai in 2017. “I witnessed the magnitude of this grand event and relentless efforts of our company to promote bottom-up innovation. This is something that I had not experienced in my decades-long career in the IT sector,” said Pallavi. One area that stood out for her was the innovations in smart energy analytics which is now known as the OpenBlue Enterprise Manager, a flagship product of Johnson Controls.

“There are some 400 inventions being showcased each year at Tech Challenge globally. It’s great to witness a steady growth of female participation in developing new products or technology over the last few years,” she said.

Since 2021, a new Tech Sustainability segment has been added to the annual Tech Challenge event; a reflection of the company’s global sustainability commitments. Pallavi looks forward to seeing new ideation in this increasingly important sector. “As part of the Tech Sustainability core committee, I’m doing my bit to help Johnson Controls get closer to our sustainability goals,” she said.

Building Diversity and Inclusivity

Pallavi is also actively involved in the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) core committee at India Engineering. She relishes creating opportunities to empower and promote female engineers and professionals within the company in India. “It’s shocking to find out that it will take another 200 years before we can close the economic gender gap in our industry,” she said, referring to report from the World Economic Forum.

For Pallavi, she sees “inclusiveness as the framework within which diversity can be achieved.” She is also engaged with global D&I office initiatives and with external organizations like Lila Poonawala Foundation (LPF) to promote females in technology (STEM). She is actively involved with the Business Resource Group (BRG) workstream for the global D&I office and is also involved in mentoring underprivileged girls who aspire to be engineers.

She was particularly motivated by a recent initiative, the Women’s Leadership Program in APAC, that took place in December 2021. Lauding the program for its practical focus, Pallavi felt that the collection of insights gleaned from the real-life experience of women leaders within the company would be invaluable in helping her shape her own career path. “We’re talking concrete life lessons that we can immediately apply to our own lives. Starting with being true to myself for who I really am and understanding that failures are not set-backs but opportunities to learn,” she said. Other takeaways include the importance of networking socially and professionally, as well as to value men as allies in the pursuit of gender equality. “The next step for us, the female participants from this program, is to better ourselves to become role models to other female colleagues in the industry. I’m all ready for the challenge!” said Pallavi.

One role model that she would like to emulate is Divya Jha, the HR Director for Johnson Controls India. “Even in her position as a senior leader, Divya remains approachable and always ready to lend a listening ear to what others have to say on improving company HR practices,” said Pallavi.

Reflecting on her mid-career switch, Pallavi said that working in Johnson Controls has added more dimensions to her professional self. “I’m now more agile and have taken a broader perspective in decision-making. I’m also more open and receptive to differing views at the workplace. I’ve learned that fact-based communications is crucial when it comes to collaborating with different teams and business units,” she added.