Saket Rao IT Area Lead Saket Rao was fascinated by the arrival of the World Wide Web around 1998, paying visits to cyber cafés to experience the new phenomenon. His curiosity about how it all worked led to a career as a technologist, which eventually brought him to ING. In his spare time you'll find him on the sporting sidelines, supporting his teenage son's cricketing endeavours, and at work, he's similarly invested in helping others, looking out for opportunities for his team members to reach their potential. This is his story, in his own words.

Back when I started at ING as a Test Lead it was a different structure. There were smaller teams, no tribes and the work was much more project specific. I was a part of the automation domain, which was one of only four, focusing on testing the New Payment Platform roll out. Being an industry-wide rollout, NPP was a huge program and very challenging, requiring collaboration with vendors and eight other banks. I enjoyed it though because challenge brings learning.

Exploring different parts of the tech world

I moved into a Delivery Manager role where I got a lot of exposure to different facets of delivery, such as change management, CAS approvals and problem solving. Most of the team was offshore and I was the point of contact for them to align with people in Australia. It broadened my experience beyond testing and complemented my pre-ING background as a developer.

When Agile was introduced and the tribes were formed I put my hand up to take on the role of IT Area Lead. I've always been a people person, so it was a natural progression for me to move into leadership. I went through the selection process and was well supported by senior management.

I joined the Wealth Tribe and then, towards the end of 2020, helped form the Know Your Customer (KYC) Tribe. I've spent a lot of time making sure my team members double up their skillsets, as it's important to understand the whole picture, rather than being solely focused on one piece of the puzzle.

A day in the life

I've been in my current role for nearly 4 years and oversee 66 team members. People are the most critical part of getting the job done and I like that I can help my team members solve problems. I make sure to look out for growth and promotion opportunities for them.

Every day brings new challenges, but I like the people and the culture and the fact that the learning never stops. One moment I might be looking at a risk deliverable, then a head office requirement, then a production issue. My days are filled with discussions around current and future initiatives, supporting the team on planned releases and people management. My team also assesses the impact of global demands on our business users.

We have a range of exciting modernisation projects underway and I intend to support them in any way I can.