Shashi Kiran of Check Point Software Technologies On How to Build Your Brand as an Executive and Why it Matters

Make work fun — This is often overlooked. Every executive needs to figure out how to bring fun into their organizational culture. I take my work seriously, but don’t take myself too seriously. My share of Dad jokes creep into the workplace often. Keeping a pulse on the organization to avoid burnout is important and can build the executive brand.

In today’s competitive landscape, building a strong personal brand is essential for executives looking to establish their credibility, attract opportunities, and make a lasting impact in their industries. A well-defined brand can open doors, create trust, and help leaders connect more effectively with their audiences. But how do you build a brand as an executive, and why is it so crucial in today’s market? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shashi Kiran.

Shashi Kiran serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Check Point Software Technologies. In this role he oversees a talented global marketing organization with a charter to elevate the company’s brand, drive growth and foster customer intimacy. He has 25+ years of global experience as a marketing and technology executive in B2B companies like Broadcom, VMware, Cisco and Nortel leading large multi-billion-dollar portfolios. In addition, he has served as the CMO for several multi-stage venture-backed private companies building hi-impact teams and fueling growth. Shashi also serves on the advisory boards of innovative startups and incubators in the security, AI and cloud infrastructure space.

Shashi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and an MBA in Marketing, along with executive education stints from Stanford, Harvard and MIT.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I grew up in India. My dad was a career banker and was transferred to different cities every couple of years as he took on more responsibility. India is a very complex and diverse country. I had to learn to adapt to new schools, cities, languages, and friends every move. This gave me a lot of confidence to navigate changing environments. I find this has helped me in my own hi-tech career, where my “freak-out” threshold is quite high and I can handle a lot of complexity and get to decision points with clarity. I also spent several of my formative years in sports and gymnastics. It demanded discipline, a strong work ethic, and made me appreciate the value of teamwork. These traits also transfer to the work environment. Likewise, being active in debate and lecture circuits in schools made me very comfortable as a public speaker.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I began my career in a scientific establishment established by the department of technology to harness the power of parallel computing for supercomputing applications. This was at a time when the country was placed on an embargo as it had achieved nuclear capability. I was hired to help commercialize and market the technology at a time when the Internet was at its infancy. It became a national mission. Since there were just a few of us in the business division (as a majority of the investment was in R&D), I received tremendous exposure to do things fresh out of college, that normally people would do much later in their careers. I remember starting an e-mail course on Internetworking, that started off as a marketing hook, but quickly became viral and spread internationally. It just took a life of its own and we weren’t set up for the scale. It led to several publications as well. I didn’t expect it to take off the way it did and realized that to sustain it required tremendous time commitment. It wasn’t my day job. But I had to follow-through and make it successful.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

It’s hard to pinpoint any one individual. I’ve been fortunate to have several that have helped shaped me and my thought process. My father inspired me with his high integrity, and my mother taught me empathy and the joy of simplicity. I had some great teachers who really enjoyed educating students. My sports coach was a hugely inspirational figure. I also got lucky with several managers and mentors early on that helped shaped my thinking. I feel there are bits and pieces of me that have absorbed the DNA of a lot of them.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

There are a couple that I embrace and share with teams I am a part of. One is to “aim for the sky and you’ll reach the mountain top.” This inspires us to be more ambitious in our endeavors, and stretch outside our comfort zone. Another favorite is that “if all the fingers in our hand were of the same length, we can never make a proper fist. It’s because each finger is a different size, that the fist becomes powerful.” This embodies the need for diversity in teams and the power of everyone recognizing people’s strengths to maximize their impact. I also don’t want to clone myself, and I’m constantly looking at where I can play my team to their strengths, rather than augment their weaknesses.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Success can be a mirage and never a destination. So, I try to enjoy the journey, and embrace the concept of one life. So, we have to maximize our utility as human beings. In my work environment, I try to lead by example. I don’t ask others to do what I myself won’t. I encourage everyone to focus on the details and not over delegate, regardless of the title. Small things make big differences and taking ownership is important. Finally, I try to live up to things I say yes to. I don’t say yes easily, but whether at home or at work, giving my word has to mean something. It is the foundation of trust.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Why does building a brand as an executive matter? What are some specific outcomes you’ve seen from taking time to build a strong brand?

Building a personal brand requires constant introspection, being open minded, and a willingness to change. It also requires intentionality. A certain amount of an executive brand is tied to the company they belong to, and its perception. Some can ride high on a company’s brand, and others get dragged down. This is hard to control. What one can control is personal character, and the influence in developing organizational culture — all these elevate the brand of an executive. Such leaders can be more effective in driving change and leading high impact outcomes.

I was part of a company that had existed for over a hundred years, but got rocked by a financial accounting scandal. This tainted high-performance executives who had nothing to do with the finances as a ripple effect. But those that had a strong personal reputation were able to cross over into other organizations because their personal brand and the reputation they built were highly regarded in the industry at large.

One of the most important factors in building a brand is authenticity. Can you share a story of how using an authentic voice has been effective in connecting with others?

People see through BS quickly. They can recognize when a leader is being authentic and transparent, and expect us to tell it like it is, within reason. Authenticity should not be mistaken for speaking harsh truths bluntly and should be accompanied by some contextual wisdom. I also find that people find it empowering when they’re exposed to the context of asks made of them. Exposing them to the “why,” makes them appreciate the authenticity of asks and take ownership, as too often, we’re exposed to false deadlines, and command-and-control asks without a clear context. Culture in such organizations quickly becomes toxic and productivity suffers. An authentic leader who is genuine in his or her approach can inspire and drive transformation with better outcomes.

Can you give an example of a strategic step an executive has used to differentiate themselves in a crowded market? What advice would you give to others looking to do the same?

Good executives are a rare breed. I’ve seen some great executives falter because they lose their sense of identity and purpose. Executives are meant to execute and take decisions of the highest quality. That’s what they are paid for. But many start to drift, lose their sense of urgency, or get a sense of entitlement. I often tell my team that titles don’t equate to leadership. A person with no direct reports can be perceived to be a leader, while someone with a fancy title could be poorly regarded. The executive needs to constantly earn their title. Complacency destroys careers as nobody likes a fence sitter. A bias for action, constant learning, healthy relationships, and a penchant for seeing around the corners to reinvent themselves is important. A former colleague at a large company took their title for granted, became complacent, and lost their ability to manage change when it was needed the most. It fractured work and personal relationships and that executive had to get back to basics to rebuild.

Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Successfully Build Your Brand As An Executive”?

1. Be authentic — This may sound like a cliché, but being true to one’s identity builds trust and credibility. Doing what you say and saying what you do is also very important. Being authentic takes practice and may involve being vulnerable and human, but it creates a high-trust culture. Eventually any executive brand is only as good as what others perceive it to be.

2. Be humble — In the knowledge-worker economy, it’s not just the hours we put in, but what we put in the hours that matters. Leaders that demonstrate humility build teams that “opt-in” to the cause, creating an ownership culture that unleashes productivity at scale.

3. Be a change agent — An executive who can be a change agent has a better brand and is prized in most organizations. Today’s businesses deal with extraordinary complexity at both a technology and human level. We need people at the helm that can not just navigate this change personally, but also guide the organization with a calm demeanor. Executives may need to re-invent themselves to drive change. We see this in pop culture as stars re-invent their brands to stay relevant. Business leaders can benefit from this mentality.

4. Overcommunicate — Good communications is the life blood of a well-run organization. Just-in-time communications can be a challenge in global organizations, straddling multiple time zones, languages and work cultures. Executives that invest time in communicating often, with purpose, tailoring the messages to their audience, are better regarded. Direct communications with clarity minimizes things lost in translation and through the grapevine. It builds executive credibility. With so many avenues to communicate, including traditional, social, and personal, maintaining consistency is important. I’ve seen executives demonstrate inconsistent behaviors in non-formal settings, and the mask comes off quickly.

5. Make work fun — This is often overlooked. Every executive needs to figure out how to bring fun into their organizational culture. I take my work seriously, but don’t take myself too seriously. My share of Dad jokes creep into the workplace often. Keeping a pulse on the organization to avoid burnout is important and can build the executive brand.

What’s one of the most surprising things you’ve learned about building an executive brand through your experience? Can you share a story that illustrates this lesson?

What has struck me repeatedly in my career is that past performance never guarantees future results. I’ve had the opportunity to lead global, multi-billion dollar organizations and also work in startups of different sizes. The personal brand, reputation, and relationships we bring helps to a certain extent, but then we need to go all out to prove ourselves in the new environment. Every organization is unique and what worked at another organization may no longer be relevant in this one. So, how quickly we read the tea leaves, deliver value, and focus on impact are all key to elevating the executive brand — or diminishing it. Having a formal or informal pulse is always important — what can be surprising is how others measure our brand may be higher or lower than how we measure ourselves. There are multiple avenues for feedback including where anonymous reviews can be posted. A good leader has to read these signals and decipher patterns constantly.

How do you measure the success of brand-building efforts, both internally within your company and externally in your industry?

I wake up trying to see what I can do to make the organization successful. If the organization succeeds, my personal brand benefits automatically. Now, there are things I personally control, like my own character, my words, and actions. Eventually all these should be in service of the organization I represent, and absolutely aligned. Taking a pragmatic approach and being able to secure early wins goes a long way to building a reputation or taking on more complex undertakings. In my role, I tend to express my voice internally and externally and focus on building the brand of the organization at large. I don’t fixate as much on my personal brand. Ensuring others across the company also serve as effective brand ambassadors is also a part of the charter, as every single employee can influence the brand in their own way. Having a good personal brand opens doors quickly, and having a great company brand helps business growth. People tell us without solicitation when a brand is malnourished. Above all, doing the right thing and doing the thing right, means you’ve a clear conscience at the end of the day.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

He may be viewed as polarizing by some, but there are not many that can top Elon Musk. The sheer expanse of his engagements and the ability of drive monumental change in such a variety of disparate industries simply blows my mind. He is one of those that you can choose to like, or dislike, but cannot choose to ignore.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I generally am active on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/skiran). I also write commentary in Forbes and other publications from time to time.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.