Padmasree Warrior: outstanding woman in technology
Businesswoman Padmasree Warrior is widely regarded as one of the outstanding executives in the technology field. During her career, she has served as chief technology officer at companies such as Cisco and Motorola. Warrior has also served as the head of electric car manufacturer Nio USA. Padmasree is currently leading her own project, Fable.
Warrior was born and raised in India. After graduating from college, she continued her studies at Delhi University, where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 1982. Padmasree completed her Master’s in the same field at the prestigious Cornell University in the USA.
In 1984 she joined Motorola, where she gradually rose through the ranks. During her 23 years with the company, she served in various roles. In 2003, she was promoted to Chief Technology Officer and two years later to Vice-President. During her tenure, Padmasree took the company to the next level. She led Motorola to its first Technology Medal, awarded by the President of the United States for its contribution to innovation. The company then pursued a strategy of seamless mobility based on integrating communications into different aspects of life. However, Motorola was unable to achieve its goals entirely and, after a while, changed the direction of its business development.
Own business
Warrior left the company in 2007 to take up a position as Chief Technology Officer at another major company, Cisco. She had a successful career there until 2015 when she moved to China to join Nio, a US-based electric car manufacturer. Padmasree only stayed for three years before deciding to start her own business. In 2019, Warrior launched a startup called Fable, a subscription-based book-reading platform. The app also offers a closed social network where users can share recommendations.
Padmasree has been repeatedly featured in various rankings of prestigious publications such as Forbes, The Economic Times and Fortune. On more than one occasion, she has been ranked as one of the most influential businesswomen and prominent women in the US technology sector.
Warrior’s current focus is on Fable. She is also a board member of Spotify, Thorn, Microsoft, the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) and several other institutions. Padmasree is also one of the mentors for women at an organisation set up by the US department. The project aims to support women who want to develop their careers.
