Name: Simran Singh
Simran Singh is Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for Hyperwallet, a Paypal company acquired in 2018.
Prior to Hyperwallet, Simran was a Senior Product Manager at VMware where he joined after graduating from business school. Before business school, Simran worked at Baring Private Equity Asia, the largest private equity fund in Asia. Simran was one of the earliest employees of Parthenon’s education practice and helped launch schools in more than 25 countries around the world including Chile, Zambia, Mexico, UAE, Singapore, UK, etc.
Simran is a Palmer Scholar graduate from the Wharton School of Business and Director’s Medallist from IIT Delhi (Computer Science and Mathematics).
I got to know Simran while he was at VMware. He worked in my Product Management team. I knew from his first days at VMware, that Simran was a superstar. I have stayed loosely connected, watching his rise to where he is today.
I have always been impressed with Simran’s thoughtful and humble approach to solving problems and his strong commitment to delivering on time and with high quality.
I think that you will enjoy my interviews with Simran!
Questions Interview
I asked Simran three questions that were specific to him.
- You went to Wharton for your MBA. There is an ongoing discussion about the importance of an MBA.
- You worked at a startup in India that was acquired. You then joined VMware. You then went back to a startup (that too was acquired). For anyone trying to decide whether to work for a small company versus a large one, – share what you see as the pros and cons.
- You work for a company, Hyperwallet, that is headquartered in BC. Most of the employees work there. What advantages and disadvantages do you see in being a remote employee?
I then asked Simran the same six questions that I ask all interviewees – in a lightning-round format.
- What’s the most important factor you consider when hiring someone?
- Who was your most effective boss, and what made him or her stand out?
- What was the most difficult transition that you made in your career?
- How do you approach helping someone with their career development or path?
- What tools and tricks do you use to find work-life balance?
- How do you go about building relationships with your peers and other leaders in the company?
It is hard to pick a few quotes from the interview – there are so many that resonate with me. But here goes anyway!
Simran is very focused on finding the right work-life balance.
“I take this as a microeconomics problem.
Your work-life balance is a representation of who you are. If you say you spend too much time at work, you are giving more importance to work and you should be ok with that.
Instead of saying how do I improve my work-life balance? You should instead say. How do I reprioritize the things that I value in my day?”
This is a great way to think about the challenges that we all face in finding our work-life balance.
Another area where Simran has a great perspective is on building relationships.
“The goal of getting to know someone comes across as non-genuine.
The one thing that I think has worked well both personal and professional life is – how do I make my peers life easier…”
As a part of that, he gave a book recommendation – “Givers and Takers: Why Helping Others Drive Our Success” by Adam Grant.
These quotes just touch the surface. I am sure you will enjoy the full interview!
Career Path
I had a great conversation with Simran about his career journey. Two big things jump out.
- He is thoughtful when changing jobs. It is important that he learns something new, challenges himself, and works to prepare for a future role leading a company or business unit.
- He works in an environment where he enjoys the people and can achieve his work-life balance.
I hope that you both enjoy the interview and get some value out of it!
See Also
What Does It Mean to Give as a Leader
