Women’s Leader in Global Tech

‘Be Bold, Be Brave, and Be You’ has been the motto of Pooja Sund. Living up to her maxim, the versatile and dynamic Pooja has emerged as a Leader in Global Tech as well as an internationally sought after Speaker, Moderator and Coach. Today, she is an Engineering Finance Leader at Microsoft Corporation. And since 2021, she is also the Founder of her own consulting company – 3PSky Consulting LLC.

Brilliant and fearless, Pooja’s successful ascending can be traced to her childhood. Her parents instilled in her the confidence to dream big. Her siblings were supporting system. Her husband was there with every step and supported her career growth. And her two young kids, and in-laws encouraged her to pursue dreams.

“My mom taught me to have a vision in life and work hard to achieve that vision. She inspired us to be the CEO of our lives and taught us to be optimistic. I owe my success in life to her.”

Pooja joined Microsoft as a Financial Analyst in 2006 and rose the ranks to be a Director, Engineering and Finance in 2020. Her excellence won her 3 CFO awards (Individual and team) within Microsoft in 2009, 2018 and 2020, and helped her forge a multi-faceted career which culminated in the form of 3PSky Consulting LLC.

“Since childhood, I have enjoyed speaking and helping people reach their full potential. When I thought of having a side hustle, I chose something that closely aligns with my passion and thus was born 3PSKY Consulting LLC through which I offer services in Speaking, Coaching and Consulting. 3P is my brand and I love to make an impact by utilizing my 3P – Passion for Technology, Leadership, AI; Power to believe in myself and others, power to keep ideating, fix things, create clarity, generate positive energy in teams; and lead People and teams to be successful. ‘Sky’ came from beloved late dad who used to write ‘Sky should be the limit’ in our report cards when we were young.”

In a short span, Pooja has grown the business exponentially and is a sought-after global speaker (North America, South America, Asia, and Europe). She is a Board Member, an adjunct professor, and a Tech Influencer. All the roles she plays allow her to follow her passion for bringing people together. She is a big believer in giving time, money, and resources to people to build an incredible community.

Pooja is co-leading the Learning and Development pillar of Women at Microsoft (30,000 women). She invites leaders to come and share their stories of success, rejection, and overcoming challenges monthly. As a LinkedIn Tech Influencer (with 40,000 followers), she creates content on the topics of Leadership, AI, Data analytics, and latest tech. She organizes the ‘Tech Careers: Mentoring & AMA (Ask me anything)’ type of events. In 2022, she reached 15,000 people by speaking at multiple events.

No wonder then that Pooja has emerged as an inspiration to women across borders. How would she define her leadership style, we ask her. “In 3 words – Authenticity, Empathy and Care.”

Her list of Honors runs everywhere, including:

‘Highest award for achievement’ by Dale Carnegie in 2017, a prestigious award given to an individual who demonstrates the highest skill set required to be a woman leader.
Top Tech Leaders to follow in 2023 by Fetcher, a US based company, and by Audit Resume, another US based company.
Featured in Women’s History Month in 2022 by Wonsulting, a company with 500K followers, for her contribution to the STEM community.
Giving Champion Lead in 2022 at Microsoft where she led her engineering org supporting nonprofits around the world and raised an impressive over $10 Million donations.
Received the ‘Industry Psychic Award’ in 2021 from a global events company.
Cultural Brand Ambassador for Microsoft; recognition given to an individual who highlights growth mindset and contributes to the growth of others both inside and outside Microsoft.
Won several Speaker Awards for delivering 250+ talks to increase diversity in Tech and inspire people to break barriers.
Featured on Microsoft News, Microsoft Finance site, leading US, Indian newspapers, and various publishing outlets.
Won ‘Super Brains Super Youth Gold Medal’ for being the most inspiring young leader in India in 2004.

Where does she go from here, we wonder. Pooja tells us, “I would like to continue my path of empowering the next generation by sharing content through LinkedIn and will continue collaborating with global organizations. I will continue to inspire people that anything is possible with a dream, vision, and a solid plan to execute.”