GRANT'S DESI ACHIEVER
“KEEPING PEOPLE’S MONEY SAFE IS A PASSION”
Sai Poguluru is the Chief Information Security Officer at Your Neighbourhood Credit Union.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
With more than two decades of leadership experience in business and technology delivery, advisory, vendor governance and risk management, Sai Poguluru has been CTO, CIO, CDO, startup mentor and strategic advisor.
As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Vice President of IT Operations at Your Neighbourhood Credit Union, his role encompasses security, technology infrastructure and core banking. He ensures that all devices and servers are up and running, that members (the term for clients at a credit union) have instantaneous access 24/7, and that all of this is secure.
Prior to this, he has held senior positions at TD, Goeasy Ltd., and Laurentian Bank Financial Group, and was co-founder and CTO at Gradient Technologies Inc.
He is credited with delivering strategic transformational programs with demanding time-to-market and cost considerations.
In one instance, the Canadian mining company Inco was bought over by Vale, a Brazilian company. They wanted to consolidate their vendors from 250 to five. Poguluru was able to convince them that this was not a realistic goal, that they were unique vendors, and took the number to 50.
“This was some years ago, but one I am particularly proud of, organizing billion-dollar outsourcing agreements and helping the transition into a global company,” he says.
The process involved extensive travel to Brazil. Poguluru enjoyed learning a new culture and also picked up a working knowledge of Portuguese.
More recently at TD, he led open banking, transitioning from one architectural paradigm to a new architectural paradigm.
As threats change and evolve in the virtual world, so does his role. Not so long ago, CEOs and CFOs of organizations were held accountable for every payment and could potentially be jailed for financial malpractices – even if they were not involved. As organizations moved from paper to digital, CISOs came into the picture, expanding as technology grew more and more complex.
“In some states in the US, every corporate board must have at least one member with information security background,” says Poguluru. “We need one in every family! Someone who can guide us through the maze of the virtual world. Someone who tells you that when you click on anything that pops up while you’re watching a YouTube video, you are interacting with them. The platform is not really going to protect you. Regulators at provincial and federal levels do that.”
Poguluru is part of the regulatory meetings of Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), helping set up guidelines, making sure the proper controls are in place.
“At the credit union, we’ve increased our effort, budget and skills set to keep up with the threat vector,” he says.
With a proven track record of building high performance teams and delivering results in fintech, open banking, hackathons and cyber security, he is ideally placed to guide the average person on safe practices in a digital world.
He starts by clarifying that he is not against AI. “Not at all, I embrace it. But our info is getting mined and people aren’t even aware of how and when.”
He goes on to describe vulnerable groups, and it turns out pretty much everyone is.
“Young people are tech savvy, but not careful about safety practices. They accept friend requests, they expose personal information when they post photographs and details of where they’ve been for what occasion. Birthday, best friend’s name, dog’s name, it’s all online. These are the answers to authentication questions and bots are mining the info.
“Older people are not used to new technology and are also lonely. They will take any call and start chatting, sharing important personal information without realizing it. The proliferation of the so-called grandparent scams are evidence of this.
“And the people in the middle? Life is so busy and complicated, they have a number of bank accounts and credit cards. And all the information, mortgages, insurance, investments, home security, banking, it’s on their phones. And devices are never switched off. But not everyone is aware of which app is sharing what.
“Follow standard safety proto-cols. Have the latest antivirus and patches to fix vulnerabilities on your software and applications to reduce risk of cyber attacks. And ask an expert about certified apps, and even on those, make sure information is limited.”
“Encrypt passwords. Don’t store them on sticky notes even in a bedroom locker!
Poguluru is described as a visionary leader who brings out-of-the-box thinking to create innovative solutions.
One would be Samskritamrutham, a tech portal he created as part of a not-for-profit trust.
“People associate Sanskrit with religion, but it has vast bodies of knowledge that everyone can use, it’s universal. On this portal, anyone with a basic knowledge of Sanskrit can access information on everything from Ayurveda to Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Again, people think of these as ancient disciplines, but did you know Ayurveda classifies 250 types of diabetes as against just Type 1 and Type 2 in modern medicine? It also addresses mental health, which is a very current, very real issue. And Yoga Sutra helps cleanse all faculties of mind.”
At the time of the interview, the portal was at a preview stage.
He is often asked how he balances modern science in his professional life with his passion for ancient forms of knowledge.
“For me, the two are symbiotic,” he responds. “We talk about surveillance these days, watching over employees who work off-site, for instance. We talk about ethics for data governance. Well, ancient texts tell us that we are defined by not just deeds, but also our thoughts and speech. If you believe this, you’ll have a better society because DEI practices are engrained in this.”
He makes the fascinating point that deep fake and zero trust that everyone talks about today were very present in ancient epics.
“AI technology, identity management, you’ll find it all!” he says with a chuckle.
Poguluru was instrumental in introducing Sanskrit in York Region schools and volunteers as a teacher, introducing students to the wonders of nature and all the elements through songs and poetry.
“Source information online, but don’t live online.” Sai Poguluru with his wife Raji, son Sridhar and daughter Shreya.
He also works with a health start-up involved in early intervention, providing tech guidance to track symptoms of physical and mental disabilities.
After completing his education in Hyderabad, he lived and worked in the US for five years.
“Because people said if you don’t prove yourself in the US, you are not topnotch!”
But moving back and forth every six months between the US and India was hard on his mother after his father passed away and he was drawn to Canada’s cultural mosaic.
“I saw how there’s respect for everyone, and how the definition of family includes parents and grandparents.”
They moved to Canada in 2000 and he says they’ve been blessed to have his mother with them.
She loves Canada – and the fact that she can source all the fresh vegetable and ingredients for their vegetarian cuisine easily.
They had lived in Maine and New Jersey, so the weather wasn’t an issue, either.
What was challenging, however, was finding meaningful employment.
They had thought it would be easy with their experience in India and the US, but it took a couple of years.
“Our experience was that employers were not open to people with new experience,” he says.
But not once did they think they had made a mistake coming to Canada.
When they travel back to the US, their friends say if they were to move back, they’d make 30 to 40 per cent more.
“Which is probably true, but my wife Raji, who is a senior director at TD Bank, says, ‘If this is going to be your opening dialogue, we’re not coming back to visit you!’ Raji and I see what we do as a social cause. Keeping people’s money safe is a passion. Even though we’re earning a salary, there’s a social dimension to what we do that is very rewarding.”
Their son Sridhar is in his fourth year at UofT, studying math and computer science, and daughter Shreya is in grade 10. Sridhar wants to be a teacher, but needs an OCT certification to do so. For the two-year course, he needs two ‘teachables’. Computer science is not a teachable in major Canadian universities.
“Which is just mind boggling, it should be more widely available” says Poguluru. “He’s drawn to teaching and is not swayed by those who are pointing him in other directions where he’ll make more money. But think of how many good teachers we might be losing. Our school system is not keeping up with the times when it should be acting as the central processing unit (CPU)! How will we be a top destination for immigrants?”
As part of the Cones-toga College program designing committee, Poguluru is doing his part to bring about change.
Both he and Raji mentor newcomers and advise them to reach out to others.
“Don’t be alone. We’re happy to share our successes and achievements, but shy away from seeking help. Please reach out, people are happy to help. You can gather information on everything from where to live, how to enter the job market, navigate the health system, how to orient kids in their new schools... Even something simple like the changing seasons.
If you’re planning to be away for a few days in winter, you might be thinking of turning the heat off – a neighbour will tell you why that’s a bad idea! Or why you should tell family and friends that are planning on visiting you to get health insurance. Connecting with people can help you learn quickly and avoid costly mistakes.
“I know people who say they’ve been here for so many years, but have never seen this or that. How would they? Source information online, but don’t live online.
“Celebrate your culture. That puts the onus on you to learn more about your own culture so you can share in an informed manner and also provides opportunities to learn about others. Embrace continuous learning.”
• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).
