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Future Makers: George Kurian, NetApp

Future Makers are the driving forces that take us forward: using technology, determination, collaboration and passion to make things happen. From cybersecurity to social media, we'll hear from the people and partners using winning formulas to affect positive change.

In the third part of our Future Makers series, George Kurian, CEO at NetApp, discusses how working with a growth mindset in a hybrid world can open up new opportunities.

I grew up in India, during a time where computers and information technology didn't really exist. Data was mostly written on paper, locked away in neat filing cabinets, an output or byproduct of human activity, not a critical input to making businesses even better, as it is today. We didn't have a television until I was 15; I never saw a computer until I came to the US. 

I was incredibly blessed to be born to my parents. They were both extraordinary role models – self-starters who came from modest backgrounds and made extraordinary contributions to their families and communities.

My mother is my greatest hero; she was, even then, a firm believer in what people now call a growth mindset; that capability and success are not determined by one's innate ability, but by one's persistence, grit, resilience and willingness to learn. I was taught to work hard, take risks, admit mistakes, stay humble and keep learning.

Like humans, organisations, particularly successful ones, often lose their way because they are discouraged from taking risks and because their leadership has their ego wrapped up in a fear of failure.

At NetApp, we embrace that today's hybrid world is ever-changing and recognise that it opens windows of opportunity.

George Kurian-Chief Executive Officer at NetApp

Throughout my time at NetApp, I have embraced Ben Franklin’s wise philosophy: "The older I grow, the more apt I am to pay more respect to the judgment of others." If you have the humility to embrace a "learn-it-all" mindset, you will never stop growing.

At NetApp, we embrace that today's hybrid world is ever-changing and recognise that, while change can be difficult, it also opens windows of opportunity.

We've been putting our growth mindset into action as we are transforming as a global cloud-led, data-centric software company to help organisations everywhere put their data to work to accelerate their growth – regardless of where that data lives, on premises or in the cloud.

We've been transforming the pace of innovation in our portfolio, how we support our customers and how we unlock operational speed and resilience across our company. And just like other leading companies, we are creating flexibility and planning for multiple futures.

Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ (AMCF1) Team initially turned to NetApp because much of their data was fragmented into siloes, and they were not able to fully put it to work. Data was being generated and used where it was needed, but the team needed to find correlation and enable insights across that data.

With our technology, they now have the right storage and compute for the right workloads, and they can seamlessly correlate all of their data across their IT environment.

NetApp

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Clearly, you cannot find success in Formula One without a growth mindset, which is why there is so much synergy between NetApp and AMCF1.

From factory to wind tunnel to trackside, we are enabling the team to unleash the power of their data in order to go faster on and off the track. I am very excited to see where our incredible partnership takes the team next season and beyond. 

A lot of the innovations that we have made over the last 29 years at NetApp happened because we took some risks and did not give up the first time that we failed. We persisted. And we learned from our mistakes.

As Michelangelo once said: "The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed."

Thanks to George for making his mark: #IAMSTORIES.

George Kurian is the Chief Executive Officer of NetApp and has served as the global, cloud-led, data-centric software company's CEO since June 2015.