From Engineering Execution to Product Leadership at Scale - Arun Palghat Purushotham – S1, Ep. 12

Arun Palghat Purushotham has been a product and technology leader for more than 20 years, with experience spanning engineering, business intelligence, payments, education, and gaming. He is currently Director of Product Technology at Pragmatic Play, where he has spent more than eight years, including earlier roles as Head of Technology. In this episode of Leaders of Impact, Arun joins host Vikram to explore how technology leaders grow by adapting across industries, scaling teams, and moving from engineering execution to product and business leadership. The conversation traces Arun's path through gaming, education, and payments before landing at Pragmatic Play, digs into what entrepreneurship taught him about ownership, and unpacks the "sponge in the middle" leadership style that's carried him through high-pressure decisions. The discussion closes with Arun's take on where AI is headed next and why adaptability remains the one skill that never goes out of style. Timestamps: 00:13 Welcome and today's theme: adapting across industries to lead at scale 01:05 Arun's journey across gaming, payments and education 04:54 What every job taught him: no shortcut to success 07:13 Adapting to different industries 09:31 Why alignment with the company vision matters 10:50 What building his own venture taught him 14:55 Scaling teams over 8 years: learning to let go 19:34 Skills to build beyond technical delivery 24:53 Handling change across roles and industries 26:40 Staying calm under pressure 32:00 AI and the future of product technology 37:18 Closing thoughts on adaptability Arun's LinkedIn:   / arunpp   Subscribe to Leaders of Impact for more conversations with technology leaders driving real-world change. #LeadersOfImpact #ProductLeadership #TechnologyTransformation #AIforBusiness #Adaptability