Ravi Vedula’s memoir ‘Hyderabad Days’ / IANS

An Indian American senior executive at Microsoft has turned to memory and meaning in a new memoir that argues leadership is shaped long before one writes a line of code.

Ravi Vedula, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said his book ‘Hyderabad Days’ draws from “recollections and vignettes of life in the 80s and 90s,” adding that those years remain “very formative” and continue to guide his thinking in engineering and leadership.

“Those childhood memories are things I use till today,” Vedula said in an interview with IANS, describing them as “the value system and the operating principles of how I think about leadership now and in engineering.”

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The book, releasing March 31, centers on growing up in a Hyderabad colony and frames those experiences as a “proxy for all neighborhoods where anyone grew up,” he said, stressing that “this is not just my story, it’s yours too.”

Vedula said each chapter ends with a reflective “postscript” linking childhood incidents to present-day lessons. Simple episodes — pooling money to buy a cricket ball or resolving disputes in gully cricket — become “a story of teamwork … doing more with less … finding community with each other.”

He said the structure allowed him to move beyond “slice-of-life vignettes” and connect them to a broader leadership frame rooted in storytelling rather than formal frameworks.

A recurring theme is community. “I felt like I was raised by everybody in the neighborhood,” he said, recalling a chapter titled “everybody’s child.”

He also points to “resourcefulness” — often described in India as jugaad — and teamwork as defining traits. Family influences, especially his mother’s quiet sacrifices, form another strand. “It was service. It was leadership,” he said.

Vedula, who moved to the United States in 1993 for higher studies and joined Microsoft in 2000, said the book deliberately focuses on what he calls the “pre-immigrant story.”

“No one ever tells the pre-immigrant story,” he said, adding that his life has been shaped by “India, America, and India, where America gave me wings, India gave me grounding and roots.”

Reflecting on the rise of Indian professionals in the U.S. technology sector, he said those early influences may play a role. “We tend to be resourceful … we tend to work within constraints … I have to believe that all of that is part of it,” he said.

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On artificial intelligence, Vedula said technological shifts only reinforce the importance of human values.

“Our humanity, our ethics, our values … are going to be core ingredients for us to be able to shape AI for the future,” he said.

He added that while AI may take over routine work, “there is a part of your job that has been shaped by your judgment, your values,” which will remain central.

Vedula said the memoir is not about nostalgia alone but about “what we cannot afford to lose as we shape the future.”

Proceeds from the book will fund heart surgeries for children in India.

Vedula, who now leads a global data and analytics organization at Microsoft, has worked across major product transitions, including Exchange, Office 365, and the company’s cloud evolution.

His reflections also align with a broader shift in how the Indian diaspora documents its journey. Unlike earlier narratives centered on migration and professional success, ‘Hyderabad Days’ emphasizes formative environments — neighborhoods, families, and shared cultural experiences.

He said rapid technological and social change risks eroding those foundations.

“We just don’t have enough shared moments anymore because of such distractions,” he said, referring to the shift from collective family experiences to more individualized, screen-driven lives.

“It is hard to be a kid in this generation,” he added, citing the pressures of social media, constant information flow, and evolving career landscapes shaped by AI.

He emphasized the importance of maintaining human connection. “Having friends, having people who care about you and having people that you care about … interacting with a person in conversation,” he said, “remains an essential anchor.”

On India’s growth as a technology hub, Vedula called its progress “quite remarkable” but said the next phase would require global-scale innovation.

“Nothing has emerged on the global stage in a way that I think India still has to figure out,” he said, adding that AI could act as “a real great equalizer.”

Vedula plans book engagements across U.S. tech hubs, including Seattle and Silicon Valley, followed by outreach in India after the print release.

“This is not unique to me … this is everyone’s story,” he said.

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