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Supriya Rao is a standout leader in the heavily male-dominated technology sector. Not only is the MD of ClearRoute India a woman in a man’s world, but she embodies a leadership style that packs a punch through empathy, trust and a straight-up humane approach. When personal loss and social stigma could have derailed her, Supriya instead turned hardship into fuel for growth, resilience and self-belief. Read her remarkable story here.
Being the only woman in the room for so much of her career has never deterred Supriya Rao.
Starting out as a test analyst at Infosys, she had always “dreamt of being a leader,” yet felt terrified when that dream became reality. Her next role at UST presented the challenge: leading the division responsible for presales.
“I had no idea what presales even were. It was a completely unknown area. I didn't know whether I would be successful at it.”
Aware of surveys suggesting women think they’re not qualified unless they meet 100% of job criteria while men will apply even if they meet just 60%, Supriya “grabbed it with both hands… opportunity only knocks once… if you don't make the most of it, it’s already lost. I told myself, I'd figure out things out along the way.”
And figure things out she did against a backdrop of personal loss and tragedy.
First, her marriage ended abruptly, leaving her on her own with two small children and reliant on her parents.
“I hadn’t planned to divorce – it was not through choice. My parents had to give up their social life and everything they had built in a different city just to be with me because I was in crisis.”
Two months later, her only sibling, a brother aged 39 and also a father of two young children, died suddenly of a cardiac arrest.
“It was a really heartbreaking, tough time for everyone… In India [being a single parent] is looked down on, it's a taboo and you are outcast by your entire society… but I still had to put food on the table. I had no financial cover, no emergency funds.”
She dug deep into her resilience reserves and got on with the job, supported by a boss who recognised the important role male leaders play in achieving gender equality.
“I knew I was ready to hustle and do the grind. But I told my CEO that I would like his guidance in coaching or mentorship… whatever form of support he could provide."
She was assigned a mentor, an external specialist, in a move she believes underpins her success.
Two years ago, when Supriya took the MD post in the India office of global platform engineering firm ClearRoute, she was only the third employee. Since then, she’s grown the business to 60 staff, 38% of whom are women, impressive stuff when just 29% of India’s tech workforce are women.
“I always had this mandate to build scale and build culture… because growth without culture is fragile and culture without growth is unsustainable.”
With a leadership style epitomised by empathy, trust and humanity, Supriya rewards open discussion and communication.
“When you work within largescale organisations, people are bound to commit mistakes,” she says. “I like an open dialogue and people owning up to their mistakes, then moving on."
She also values collaboration and helping others, and “…that goes both ways – people who are beneath you, who report to you, and people you are reporting to…maybe this is related to India – in the family values and belief system of working together as one team – rather than standing out individually for yourself.”
A recent accolade of which she’s most proud is ClearRoute becoming the only IT services company in India to receive the ‘happy place to work’ accreditation. It should come as no surprise that her Employer Net Promoter scores (ENPS) have been rated high for the past four quarters.
Her journey to the top of tech in such challenging personal circumstances is testament to her determination and grit. Now happily married, Supriya makes a conscious effort to hire more women through partnering with organisations like career platform Herkey.
She also works hard to support women returning to work following career breaks for maternity or elderly care purposes.
“I've never had this notion about young women who are just married and who don't have kids… that they'll soon go off on maternity and I'll have to pay for six months and there'll be a loss of billing, no impact and no value delivered. I believe in giving them a safe space… I recently hired someone back from a two-year maternity break who’s proved crucial and done wonders on her engagement. She’s garnered such positive feedback and appreciation from all the clients she’s worked with."
Supriya’s goal to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment doesn’t stop at women. In recruitment and in building a talent acquisition pipeline, she also actively targets people who are neurodiverse or who have disabilities.
“I want to be a truly inclusive organisation… to provide everyone with equal opportunities without having any unconscious bias in mind.”
Her successful recruitment of women at all stages of their career is something ClearRoute is planning to emulate across its other regions – the UK, the US and Australia.
It follows a 2025 report that found between 40,000 and 60,000 women are leaving roles in the UK’s tech and digital sectors every year citing lack of advancement or recognition, inadequate pay and dissatisfaction with company culture.
The latter is something with which Supriya is familiar having faced comments like ‘she doesn’t deserve that promotion’ or had her opinions on important matters go unheard, “because what could a lady offer right?”
Through it all, she never stopped believing in herself, advice she hopes to pass on to other women.
“Tech can be intimidating but don't hesitate to speak up or claim your seat at the table. Keep learning. Stay curious… don't ever shy away from opportunities even if they might feel uncomfortable. Growth often happens on the other side of the comfort zone.”
Wise words for women everywhere but especially those wanting to scale the heady heights of the tech industry. Supriya’s ethos is simple: treat others as you like to be treated yourself, include everyone, and think long-term big picture stuff, over short-term gains.
Make the most of opportunities – adopt a ‘say yes’ philosophy
Seek support from your leaders – a good mentor can change everything
There’s no I in team
Own your mistakes
Never stop believing in yourself
Stay curious, keep learning
Growth often happens on the other side of the comfort zone.
Supriya Rao is a standout leader in the heavily male-dominated technology sector. Not only is the MD of ClearRoute India a woman in a man’s world, but she embodies a leadership style that packs a punch through empathy, trust and a straight-up humane approach. When personal loss and social stigma could have derailed her, Supriya instead turned hardship into fuel for growth, resilience and self-belief. Read her remarkable story here.
Being the only woman in the room for so much of her career has never deterred Supriya Rao.
Starting out as a test analyst at Infosys, she had always “dreamt of being a leader,” yet felt terrified when that dream became reality. Her next role at UST presented the challenge: leading the division responsible for presales.
“I had no idea what presales even were. It was a completely unknown area. I didn't know whether I would be successful at it.”
Aware of surveys suggesting women think they’re not qualified unless they meet 100% of job criteria while men will apply even if they meet just 60%, Supriya “grabbed it with both hands… opportunity only knocks once… if you don't make the most of it, it’s already lost. I told myself, I'd figure out things out along the way.”
And figure things out she did against a backdrop of personal loss and tragedy.
First, her marriage ended abruptly, leaving her on her own with two small children and reliant on her parents.
“I hadn’t planned to divorce – it was not through choice. My parents had to give up their social life and everything they had built in a different city just to be with me because I was in crisis.”
Two months later, her only sibling, a brother aged 39 and also a father of two young children, died suddenly of a cardiac arrest.
“It was a really heartbreaking, tough time for everyone… In India [being a single parent] is looked down on, it's a taboo and you are outcast by your entire society… but I still had to put food on the table. I had no financial cover, no emergency funds.”
She dug deep into her resilience reserves and got on with the job, supported by a boss who recognised the important role male leaders play in achieving gender equality.
“I knew I was ready to hustle and do the grind. But I told my CEO that I would like his guidance in coaching or mentorship… whatever form of support he could provide."
She was assigned a mentor, an external specialist, in a move she believes underpins her success.
Two years ago, when Supriya took the MD post in the India office of global platform engineering firm ClearRoute, she was only the third employee. Since then, she’s grown the business to 60 staff, 38% of whom are women, impressive stuff when just 29% of India’s tech workforce are women.
“I always had this mandate to build scale and build culture… because growth without culture is fragile and culture without growth is unsustainable.”
With a leadership style epitomised by empathy, trust and humanity, Supriya rewards open discussion and communication.
“When you work within largescale organisations, people are bound to commit mistakes,” she says. “I like an open dialogue and people owning up to their mistakes, then moving on."
She also values collaboration and helping others, and “…that goes both ways – people who are beneath you, who report to you, and people you are reporting to…maybe this is related to India – in the family values and belief system of working together as one team – rather than standing out individually for yourself.”
A recent accolade of which she’s most proud is ClearRoute becoming the only IT services company in India to receive the ‘happy place to work’ accreditation. It should come as no surprise that her Employer Net Promoter scores (ENPS) have been rated high for the past four quarters.
Her journey to the top of tech in such challenging personal circumstances is testament to her determination and grit. Now happily married, Supriya makes a conscious effort to hire more women through partnering with organisations like career platform Herkey.
She also works hard to support women returning to work following career breaks for maternity or elderly care purposes.
“I've never had this notion about young women who are just married and who don't have kids… that they'll soon go off on maternity and I'll have to pay for six months and there'll be a loss of billing, no impact and no value delivered. I believe in giving them a safe space… I recently hired someone back from a two-year maternity break who’s proved crucial and done wonders on her engagement. She’s garnered such positive feedback and appreciation from all the clients she’s worked with."
Supriya’s goal to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment doesn’t stop at women. In recruitment and in building a talent acquisition pipeline, she also actively targets people who are neurodiverse or who have disabilities.
“I want to be a truly inclusive organisation… to provide everyone with equal opportunities without having any unconscious bias in mind.”
Her successful recruitment of women at all stages of their career is something ClearRoute is planning to emulate across its other regions – the UK, the US and Australia.
It follows a 2025 report that found between 40,000 and 60,000 women are leaving roles in the UK’s tech and digital sectors every year citing lack of advancement or recognition, inadequate pay and dissatisfaction with company culture.
The latter is something with which Supriya is familiar having faced comments like ‘she doesn’t deserve that promotion’ or had her opinions on important matters go unheard, “because what could a lady offer right?”
Through it all, she never stopped believing in herself, advice she hopes to pass on to other women.
“Tech can be intimidating but don't hesitate to speak up or claim your seat at the table. Keep learning. Stay curious… don't ever shy away from opportunities even if they might feel uncomfortable. Growth often happens on the other side of the comfort zone.”
Wise words for women everywhere but especially those wanting to scale the heady heights of the tech industry. Supriya’s ethos is simple: treat others as you like to be treated yourself, include everyone, and think long-term big picture stuff, over short-term gains.
Make the most of opportunities – adopt a ‘say yes’ philosophy
Seek support from your leaders – a good mentor can change everything
There’s no I in team
Own your mistakes
Never stop believing in yourself
Stay curious, keep learning
Growth often happens on the other side of the comfort zone.
