EP #107: Dhaksayan Shanmuganayagam - Chief Information Officer (CIO) At The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

Dhaksayan Shanmuganayagam (@dhaksayan.s) is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Toronto Transit Commission (@takethettc).He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss watching "Law & Order" with his family nurtured his love for the legal industry, using the approach of thinking of yourself as a product to progress in his career, teaching himself how to program and code (developing computer games as a hobby and selling it to his friends), the importance of delivering on time and maintaining a good reputation, being raised in a risk-averse family, the power of continually investing in yourself, and so much more.Follow Dhaksayan:- Instagram (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhaksayan-shanmuganayagam-415b3a1a/) Timestamps00:19 - Ara mispronounces another name while introducing Dhaksayan Shanmuganayagam01:04 - Dhaksayan speaks on how his formative years developed his interest in technology04:49 - Doing three internships with the TTC; why he was drawn to working there07:56 - Dhaksayan’s advice to excel in your career; thinking of yourself as a product11:16 - Does he regret anything; sacrificing time12:22 - His day-to-day responsibilities as a CIO14:14 - How he developed his people management skills; an eye-opening experience16:09 - Using TikTok and other mediums as learning resources17:04 - Driving innovation as a publicly funded organization18:38 - Dhaksayan’s opinion on the future of education and how it will impact hiring21:09 - His favourite projects while working at the TTC for the past 15 years23:03 - Misconceptions his friends/family have about the work he does23:54 - Where he sees himself in the next three years25:45 - His thoughts on ChatGPT and AI in general27:05 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self28:49 - Preparing his son for the future world29:53 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by his friends/family31:01 - Does Dhaksayan feel connected to the tamil community?32:37 - Creator Confessions35:04 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show