Jeena
“Growing up I didn’t think much about what it meant to be a girl or a woman, but l experienced all the possible gender stereotypes. I was convinced at an early age that I wanted a different path for myself. Today, I make my own financial decisions and decide what I can do and not do with my body, career and personal relationships. Being able to do these, and empower other women to do the same is what being a woman means to me.”
Jeena is a tech superstar. She has nearly two decades of experience working across Google and two startups where she accelerated global business growth to enhance developer experiences. She currently leads the WebPageTest business unit at Catchpoint. Jeena is a strong leader, who mentors and coaches working professionals, leaders, and even startup founders. She isn’t only fluent in technology, but also music. Jeeena is a gifted musician who can play by ear and uses her tunes to connect with everyone she meets, no matter what their age or background. She is creative, inspiring, and incredibly driven. Meet Jeena. This is her story.
Jeena, in her happy place
P: Please introduce yourself!
J: Hello! I’m Jeena. I’m 36 years old, live in California and work at Catchpoint, managing a business unit focused on improving the performance tools and platform experiences for web developers and fostering a thriving developer community.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
J: I’m an independent thinker, a friend when you need one, a coach when you want a sounding board and someone to help you navigate. I’m the diligent team member when you want to build something bigger than any single member of the team. I’m also the beer buddy when you want to grab sour beers, a travel buddy for pretty much any place where we can learn about new cultures and a karaoke buddy when you want to just sing your favorite Backstreet Boys song (or Zombie!)
Over the years, I’ve noticed others introducing me or identifying me as the following - An Indian, a Christian, a Malayali (person from a southern state in India called Kerala who speaks the native language), a woman of Asian descent, a Googler, an Ex-Googler, an American (I got my citizenship last year) and many others.
Here’s what I know to be true about myself - I embody a bit of everyone I’ve met along my life. The good, the bad and the ugly. I am the weighted average of all the experiences I’ve had, and the weights keep changing over time.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
J: I have an ear for music and can create harmony for any song as well as play a variety of instruments. Without any formal training. If a tune creeps up in my head, I have to try it out on any one of my instruments at home - piano, guitar, ukulele, harmonica or the kalimba! Music brings me joy, contentment, and a sense of creation.
My favorite part about this talent is to be able to share this with children. I’ve been able to connect with the children of my friends and families through music, and love to watch/listen to them make music. What may sound like noise to others is melodious to me. I love that children allow me to share their space as they discover music and songs.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
J: After almost 14 years at Google, I decided to join a startup to help scale their enterprise business. I knew joining a startup and that too as an executive would be challenging with crazy work hours and expectations, but I strongly believed that the impact that we could derive as a team would far outweigh anything else.
And so I kicked off my startup journey and boy was it a rollercoaster of an experience! My team launched new products, brought in new business, and increased revenue. I grew as a leader, a coach, and a student. However, I failed to realize the impact my lifestyle or rather workstyle had on my personal relationships which I started to take for granted. I also failed to see how much I was over-worked by the then CEO and failed to notice the cracks there, because everything felt so new and impactful. I learnt my lessons the hard way across both work and personal.
It’s taken me a while to find peace and strength in the decisions I have made along the way after those experiences. I’m grateful to have met some amazing and sincere people along the way as well as the opportunity to shape a new business at the company I currently work at. I’m now committed to building the foundations of my personal relationships (new and those that didn’t fade over covid years), and never settle for unhealthy work environments ever again.
P: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
J: Don’t hold on to past experiences too tightly, otherwise you’ll fail to see all the other experiences in store for you even when they are right in front of you. Learn from the past and remember those lessons when you see the patterns again.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
J: Growing up I didn’t think much about what it meant to be a girl or a woman, but l experienced all the possible gender stereotypes. I was convinced at an early age that I wanted a different path for myself. Today, I make my own financial decisions and decide what I can do and not do with my body, career and personal relationships. Being able to do these, and empower other women to do the same is what being a woman means to me.
I can share a fun story. I pierced my nose at age 21 with my first salary. This marked a turning point in my life because until then I had to ask my parents for their permission as well as the money for everything, including shaping my eyebrows. Of course, there was the usual ‘what will our society say because Christian girls don’t pierce their noses’ and other remarks. I always had my comeback ready - ‘It’s not on their nose, it’s on mine.’
I have over 40 noserings/pins and love expressing myself through them
P: Who is the one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
M: My best friend Meera. She has been my rock and inspiration over a decade and half because of her can-do, and never-settle badass attitude. Meera’s gone through a myriad of personal and professional experiences, and she has embraced each and every experience with a curious mindset and as a student of life itself. She enjoys the present and now, and at the same time has the foresight to set the right priorities for herself and her family for the long run.
We have not met in 3 years, and I cannot wait to catch up again and talk about anything in person over a cup of chai!
