Learning, Bias, and Leadership: Inside Shilpa Menon’s Career Growth

When Shilpa Menon joined UST (then US Software) in 2000 as one of its earliest employees, the company’s Thiruvananthapuram campus was small and fledgling. At the time she was employee number 53 and often moved between roles—developer, tester, requirements analyst—to fill whatever was needed. Today, she leads that very campus as its Centre Head, overseeing operations, employee engagement, and delivery excellence.

Early Years and Growth

Raised during her father’s transferable postings in Rajasthan, Menon later moved back to Kerala in her teens. After not clearing her medical entrance exam, she pivoted to pursue core science subjects and then completed a postgraduate diploma in computer science. She later earned an MCA. Before joining UST, she taught at computer institutes and interned at the National Informatics Centre.

At UST, her first year included a 10-month on-site assignment in Dayton, Ohio—a formative experience that reshaped her understanding of client relationships. Over time she took on team leadership roles, project management, and responsibilities in emerging accounts, which allowed her to launch new delivery clusters before handing them off to specialized teams.

Leading the Centre

In 2017, Menon became Centre Head while continuing her delivery work. Today she manages one of UST’s largest development centers—home to over 7,500 employees—and handles centre expansion, talent retention, engagement initiatives, and collaborations with local government and industry. She has launched programs like COLORS, which ties employee goals to organizational priorities, and Trailblazer, which identifies future leaders through competitive rounds.

Addressing Biases and Mentorship

Menon says she has never been denied a promotion because she was a woman, but she acknowledges that unconscious biases still linger—such as assumptions about women’s willingness to take on challenging roles or work nights. She advises confronting those biases directly, rather than making assumptions.

She also points out that many women don’t invest in finding mentors—because their schedules are flat out and they want to finish tasks quickly and head home. To address this, she helped lead UST’s WinIT program (Women in IT), combining one-on-one mentoring, group sessions, and open conversations. She also mentors through eWIT (Empowering Women in Technology) within the Technopark community.

Embracing Continuous Learning and AI

For Menon, change is the only constant. She notes that in earlier days, knowing a single technology for five to six years was enough. Now, keeping pace requires continual learning. She believes AI can especially help women: by automating repetitive work, it may free up time and reduce long work hours, helping more balance.

When she first joined UST, she thought she’d stay a few years and move on. But 25 years later, she continues to be driven by the work itself—by the chance to learn new things and grow in fresh directions.