In Conversation with Smriti Mathur, Vice President, People India & Global Talent Advisory, Pegasystems India, on Career Development
With over 20 years of leadership experience across the USA and India, Smriti is a seasoned HR professional with expertise in Business Advisory, Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, and Learning & Development.
She joined Pegasystems in 2021 as Senior People Business Leader and is passionate about creating diverse, inclusive workplaces and leveraging technology to strengthen people practices.
Previously, she was Vice President, HR at Deloitte, driving global talent strategy, and worked with Microsoft, where she played a key role in setting up a global delivery center in China.
Smriti holds a degree in Applied Psychology and a Global Executive MBA from ISB. Beyond work, she is a trained singer, avid reader, and proud mother.
Q. How does Pegasystems integrate career development into its overall talent strategy to build future-ready leaders?
The speed at which technology is evolving has made career development central to building future-ready leaders. It has become significantly important for today’s leaders to be able to combine technical fluency with adaptability while they lead teams of diverse individuals through a period of constant change.
At Pega, we integrate this belief into how we invest in talent. We begin right from the classroom with the Pega University Academic Program, which equips students with hands-on training in AI, and automation, while opening pathways for certification and careers with our clients and partners.
Building on this, we recently partnered with SmartBridge to deliver a 200-hour industry-aligned program that blends coursework with lab experience, preparing a steady pipeline of job-ready professionals.
Further, to ensure upskilling for all our employees, we have created Leading@Pega, a program that aims to help our managers grow through coaching pods, peer conversations, and real-time feedback in a time of constant change and uncertainty.
We also recently launched an initiative, Expert Circles, for our developer community, where Pega experts and peers engage in deep-dive sessions to build technical expertise and strengthen leadership capability.
These initiatives emphasize growth, collaboration, and readiness to ensure that employees are equipped to lead in a fast-evolving workplace.
Q. What innovative practices have you implemented to strengthen succession planning across critical roles?
At present, succession planning is so much more than just preparing an employee to take over an existing role. It is about ensuring that there is a strong pipeline of talent who can step up as the roles and the businesses continue to develop.
At Pega, for instance, we think about succession in terms of a continuous career journey to get employees ready in advance for future roles that may evolve over time.
To achieve this, we encourage employees to be involved in lateral moves, job rotations, and cross-functional projects. These opportunities help to expand their experience and build agility, which we see as a key competency for leadership.
Mentorship and continuous feedback further encourage our employees to mould their experiences and evolve into industry-ready professionals for more high-impact roles. Constant support and constructive knowledge transfer have also been strongly implemented at each step to ensure proper succession.
Additionally, we also leverage insights from AI to help understand emerging skill sets against a backdrop of development opportunities. This allows us to guide employees to meaningful stretches of assignments much earlier.
In essence, these practices not only develop a stronger talent pipeline internally but they also empower our people with confidence and clarity in taking on leadership roles.
Q. In a rapidly evolving tech industry, how do you ensure employees continuously upskill and remain aligned with organizational goals?
As technology reshapes job roles, organizations need to be smarter about supporting employees who love to learn and adapt to changing workplace trends in real time. At Pega, we ensure to integrate continuous development into daily work, so it never becomes an afterthought.
One of our initiatives in this regard is our Continuous Feedback App, which allows managers to track progress, celebrate successes, and maintain growth discussions efficiently. Our Principles of Engagement toolkit further supports them in building trust, clarifying goals, and keeping teams aligned with the company’s mission.
We have also designed curated learning journeys that train people and leadership in GenAI skills, ensuring employees are learning and growing with both the present and future in mind. This approach helps our employees build relevant skills while staying aligned with the organization’s goals.
Additionally, AI tools have made learning more contextual for our employees. Tools like GenAI Coach offer real-time guidance, Copilot simplifies tasks to give more time for development, and GenAI Analyze provides insights to focus on growth.
Moreover, Blueprint, Pega’s own GenAI-enhanced workspace, allows the teams to work together to create workflows that turn strategy into everyday action. Through these practices, we are able to ensure that learning is always ongoing, personalized, and goal-oriented.
Q. What role do mentorship and leadership development play in preparing the next generation of leaders at Pegasystems?
At Pega, leadership is regarded as a capability to develop over time, rather than as a position to attain. Our leaders work to establish opportunities that embrace the leadership development continuum in a structured manner.
Our leaders follow a process where mentorship is properly designed, learning is applied, and development occurs across the technical and people leadership profiles.
Mentorship provides employees with the trust and guidance they need to take on new challenges. Leadership development complements this by offering structure and feedback that turns potential into capability. Together, they create the confidence for people to grow in technical depth while also building the skills to guide and inspire others.
This philosophy is reflected in how we prepare leaders to respond to change with empathy, clarity, and flexibility. By combining mentorship with development, we want to shape the upcoming leaders who are not just ready for the roles they are assigned but also prepared to navigate the opportunities of tomorrow.
Q. How do you balance individual aspirations with business priorities while creating career progression pathways?
At Pega, we consider career development an integrated process where an individual’s personal aspirations and the needs of the business move in parallel. When employees see their professional goal having an impact on the business, their level of engagement remains high, while they and the organization continue to benefit profitably.
Balancing these priorities means giving employees opportunities that stretch their skills while keeping them aligned with company needs. Pathways are created through learning, mobility, and exposure to new challenges.
Each experience is designed to help people grow while also building the capabilities the business values most. This dual focus makes career progression both a personal journey and a strategic advantage.
Inside the organization, employees have access to curated learning journeys, certifications, and stretch assignments. These help them grow in ways that are personally meaningful and aligned with business needs.
Managers use toolkits and real-time feedback to guide career conversations, giving clarity on how individual growth links to company objectives. This approach ensures that aspirations and organizational needs both support each other and build long-term sustainability.
Thank you, Smriti!
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