ZorroSign CTO Spotlight

ZorroSign Chief Technology Officer, Priyal Walpita, recently sat down to discuss insight into who he is and how he got to where he is today, in both business and his personal life. Priyal, true to his technology background, was calculated and thoughtful in his answers. Check out this insightful interview of how passion can be the perfect motivator to success. Read on to discover the makings of a CTO.

 

Question: How did you get to where you are professionally?

Answer: As the Chief Technology Officer at ZorroSign one of the core concepts that I live by in my professional life is, “do what you love.” If you have passion for what you do it will catapult you to accomplish more. When you combine passion, hard work and dedication, anything is possible. I wake up each day excited about life and the work that I do. Identifying and following my passion from a very young age helped set the path for my current accomplishments. My professional career is my life’s passion.

 

Question: What attributes do you look for when hiring developers and other technical staff?

Answer: First, as technical knowledge workers, I expect all my employees to be just as passionate about their respective technological area of expertise as I am about AI and ML. I can teach knowledge and skill, but I can’t teach passion. Secondly, I look for employees that are constant learners, specifically, in Information Technology. As an industry that changes rapidly employees should proactively seek knowledge in order to stay up to date with trends and advancements. When employees are providing a solution to a problem, they should know about the latest and greatest technology and/or methodology that can solve that problem. Finally, I look for out of the box, innovative intellects that are capable of effectively working as part of a technical team, as many problems we need to solve take creative and dynamic thought. Prospective employees should be smart enough to critically analyze each situation and give a quick solid solution.

 

Question: Why did you choose to work for ZorroSign?

Answer: ZorroSign represents the technology of tomorrow. The current COVID-19 pandemic reinforced this as the technology seamlessly filled a critical need of a remote workforce. As a technology evangelist I firmly believe we are heading into a more connected world within cyberspace; one where people have little physical interaction among each other. For example, when I was a child, we frequently sent mail through the postal service. Innovation of SMS made sending a message instant, reducing the need for physical mail and the cost of communication. Soon it will become standard for people not to sign contracts, documents and agreements with wet ink. Instead they will use a Digital Transaction Management platform such as ZorroSign. I wanted to be at the forefront of this mass advancement where technology supports a global business environment, while also creating a best in class solution that saves trees, saves time, saves money, all while being the most secure solution on the market. This is the reason why I chose to work at ZorroSign.

 

Question: What are you most passionate about regarding technology?

Answer: Technology drives humankind to reaching their greatest potential. If you analyze human history, technology is the constant that has driven humankind forward. From innovation of making fire on demand to innovation of artificial intelligence, technology plays a major role in our evolution.

 

Question: Give me one word that describes you best.

Answer: Technocrat is the word that best describes me. I emphatically advocate for using technically skilled individuals to solve the world’s biggest problems.

 

Question: What are your long-term professional goals?

Answer: My long-term professional goal is to contribute to humankind with technological innovation that improves the lives of all people. Ultimately, I strive to have a positive impact on society with technological innovation that encourages and supports environmental sustainability that will make the environment healthier and more comfortable for generations of children to come.

 

Question: What professional skill do you need to improve most?

Answer: Public speaking was always difficult for me. Recently, I have diligently sought out opportunities to improve my public speaking and teaching ability by gaining more experience. Now I can better convey my message about new technologies and trends when speaking to small and large groups of people. If anyone is interested in attending any of my speaking engagements I often post them to LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyalwalpita/.

 

Question: What business leaders do you look up to?

Answer: Mr. Shamsh Hadi, CEO of ZorroSign is my most admired and inspirational leader. I have learned a lot from Shamsh’s thought process and superior decision-making ability. Apart from Shamsh, I am intrigued by Mr. Jeff Bezos and Mr. Bill Gates as people who have made great impact on the world with technology.

 

Question: What is one thing you want everyone reading this to know about you?

Answer: I started out on the ground level. I took a grassroots approach and started with the basics. I built my educational and professional foundation out of my passion for technology, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. I want young professionals to look at me as an example of what is achievable with hard work, sacrifice, passion and dedication. The journey to CTO was never easy, but it was always worth it.