Preetha Pulusani is a seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur with several decades of experience in the information technology industry. She is the founder and CEO of DeepTarget Inc., a U.S.-based tech company that specializes in omnichannel customer engagement solutions for financial institutions of all sizes.
She started her career at Intergraph Corporation in 1980, where she spent 25 years in various roles, including software development, product management, and marketing. She eventually became the president of Intergraph’s Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) division, overseeing annual revenues exceeding $400 million.
After retiring from Intergraph in 2006, Pulusani held senior leadership positions at AdeptMedia Corporation and Rolta India Limited. In 2009, she founded DeepTarget Inc., focusing on providing data-driven marketing solutions for financial institutions. Under her leadership, DeepTarget has developed innovative platform that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver personalized digital experiences across various channels, including online banking, mobile apps, and email.
Pulusani’s contributions to technology and leadership have been recognized in various industry publications, including Finopotamus and Fintech Finance.
No wonder she is our guest in Karmyogi – The Time Alchemists series, where we try to uncover the habits, mindset, and stories of those who have mastered time without losing themselves in the grind, who turn time into opportunity and work into legacy.
I spoke with Preetha on a quiet Sunday morning during her stay with her mother in Bangalore. Here’s how our candid conversation unfolded…
Interview with Preetha
RK: Your career has been a sustained journey, like a mountaineer who just goes one after another, those eight-thousander mountain peaks. Why don’t you walk us through that? So, how was the whole journey? How did you conquer those peaks?
PP: Well, I think actually, that journey starts a bit before my career, with my education. After my ICSE/10th standard in India, my parents arranged my marriage when I was only 17. My husband was living in the US, in Huntsville, and so I emigrated there. During those early, aimless days, I used to watch soap operas. My husband observed this for a few weeks, and finally said, “You know, you can’t continue doing this. You’re going to need to start real work in this country. Either you work at McDonald’s or get a college degree and do something more useful”. It was easy to decide then to go to college. Given my affinity to math, he suggested that I get an accounting degree with a minor in computer science. So that’s how I got my start.
PP: My husband believed I could handle a full load of courses in college. He recommended 18 hours during my first semester, then 21 hours the next, and never less than that after. Whatever he thought I could handle, he would throw at me. Turns out that he was right and I could handle it quite well so I completed my 4-year degree in three years. I was hired at Intergraph for my first job out of college. That’s how my career began. Concurrently, with “encouragement” from my husband again, I enrolled and completed my master’s in computer science when I started that first job.
PP: I was curious about everything that was going on at Intergraph. At that time, there was a company called Computer Vision that was ahead of us. And before we knew it, we had overtaken them. It was just a fascinating time, 1980 to 1990—when we grew from 65 million in revenue to over a billion. The growth was amazing. They were hiring people faster than they could build offices, putting people in the corridors.
PP: I didn’t want to leave the software development technical side which I enjoyed, but my bosses kept wanting me to become a manager. I resisted as long as I could. I became a manager of software products, then moved into product management (called product marketing then). Later, I moved into more of an industry focus with a real opportunity to understand the business side of things. I’m thankful for what Intergraph gave me as a platform. I could do whatever I wanted if I was open to new opportunities and doing the work. Even after 25 years there, it felt like I never did the same thing twice. As long as you’re doing new things and learning, you just keep going.
RK: I want to ask you about the other mountains. Were the next roles you took after Intergraph also equally challenging?
PP: Yeah, actually, they were more challenging. After I retired from Intergraph, within a few months, I saw an opportunity to do something different and co-founded a start-up. It was a spectacular failure in many ways. I learned cash management the hard way, burning through cash too quickly. There were many issues, and many hard lessons learned. After about a year, we shut it down. The best thing that happened out of that fiasco was DeepTarget which was founded based on software that I acquired in a public auction from the ashes of the previous company. This was 2008-09, a tough time. But I believed in the software and with a small team, I founded DeepTarget.
PP: I had maybe 3 or 4 employees. Since I had raised money from family and friends earlier, I decided to give them shares in the new company. I was also determined not to raise money from anyone again, so I had to find a job to support DeepTarget. That’s where Rolta comes in. I called KK (Singh, Chairman of Rolta), and without a word, he hired me. He gave me various roles during my time there. I couldn’t work at DeepTarget, but I could at least keep the operation going. That first experience taught me the importance of cash, which is why DeepTarget has remained self-sustaining.
RK: What keeps you going? How do you keep the drive from one responsibility to another over several years?
PP: I think what keeps me going, even today and earlier at Intergraph, is curiosity. As long as you’re curious, you love to learn and love to work. I like solving problems. The bigger the challenge, the more motivated I am. There’s always a mission to reach. I’ve never forgotten that I raised money from family and friends. That keeps me motivated now, more than anything else. There’s a purpose beyond me, and I think that’s important.
“As long as you’re curious, you love to learn and love to work.”
RK: Let’s move to time management and productivity. What core habits or rituals help you be productive?
PP: First, I’m very time sensitive and focused. My friends are tired of me because I’m never late – it bugs them. I take every deadline seriously. When there’s no deadline, I give myself one. I take every commitment seriously, small or big. That’s just how I am. I think I inherited that aspect from my parents.
PP: Second, I’m pretty good at multitasking. I jump around and do many things. I use a spreadsheet for my to-do list. It’s very simple but helps me a lot. I always have it open. I think you introduced it to me. I have a personal list and a work list. It helps with productivity.
RK: Many people complain about procrastination or distractions. How do you deal with those?
PP: I procrastinate too – on things I’m not interested in. I lean towards tasks where I need to create or develop something new. I don’t enjoy the more mundane but necessary business tasks – writing commission plans or doing merit increases or other paperwork. I have a crutch for that: either delegating or teaming with people who enjoy doing those things.
RK: Any thoughts on distractions?
PP: I do pick up my Smartphone and spend a few minutes scrolling, every now and then. It hasn’t been a big problem. I’d call it a productive distraction. Sometimes you just need to take your mind off what you are dealing with at that moment and get back to it, refreshed.
RK: How do you manage work-life balance?
PP: I work hard and play hard. I make time for my social circle and family. And I do it through planning. I love to plan! I had my 2025 calendar planned out by December of last year. It showed when I would be in Huntsville, India, LA, etc. I share my plan with those who need to know, and everyone appears to fall in line. :). My friends wait to hear what our next vacation will be.
“I work hard and play hard. I make time for my social circle and family. And I do it through planning.”
PP: I plan for work and plan for time with family and friends. For example, I know I’m going to Peru in September with friends. I know when during the year I will be with my mom in Bangalore or with our kids in LA.
RK: How do you make the plan?
PP: Let me show you (shares screen). It’s on one page, the 2025 calendar. I add my commitments on the calendar first, then add everything else as I go along. For example, I knew in December there were weddings to attend in 2025, so I added them and other known commitments first. I’m ready to start my 2026 calendar now. Everything I know goes in the plan. Then, I figure out ideal timings for other locations. Once I purchase my airline tickets, the dotted lines turn into solid ones—hard commitments.
RK: So this is all in PowerPoint?
PP: Yeah, PowerPoint is easy and it’s just a tool. I use the annual calendar and fill in the details. Then, I share it with my close family.
RK: What’s your go-to wellness routine?
PP: I have transitioned from doing a lot of cardio workouts at the gym to yoga while I was in Mumbai—100 Surya Namaskars every weekend to strength training with a personal trainer, both at home in the US and while in Bangalore. It’s been habit forming – I’m now addicted to weight training and combine it with tennis when in the US.
RK: Let’s talk about hobbies. How much time do you commit to them?
PP: My biggest hobby was reading, but smartphones killed that. I haven’t read good fiction in a long while. I’ve read self-help and nonfiction books, and I do watch a lot of streaming TV series. I love well-made movies, both Hollywood and Bollywood. I play cards with friends and find it to be a great social activity.
RK: What card games do you play?
PP: We play Rummy—13-card and a 24-card version, which is very interesting. Poker, which I learned from my son, is also fun. I haven’t learned bridge yet.
RK: Who have been your role models?
PP: First, my husband. He’s not just a role model but the wind in my sails. He pushed me forward—first in education and then in my career. But now he’s ready for me to retire!
PP: Larry Ayers was one of my biggest role models. He was my boss and mentor at Intergraph. He taught me how to be a mentor. Jim Taylor, again from Intergraph, taught me how to run an organization and how to delegate. He taught me that decisions must be made rapidly without going into analysis-paralysis and that it’s okay to reverse them if needed—just to do it quickly.
PP: I admire Bill Gates for the work he’s done after retirement.
RK: Any books that made a big impact?
PP: I recommend Obstacle is the Way. It helped me reframe challenges. I like Atomic Habits by James Clear. I also have devoured Seth Godin’s books on marketing and strategy. His daily wisdom in his blog is a must-read for me!
RK: How do you handle setbacks?
PP: I don’t dwell on them. I look at the worst-case scenario and figure out how to deal with it. Then I focus on actions to address and resolve them and move on.
RK: How do you stand tall in a male-dominated world?
PP: I didn’t even realize it existed at the time. I was often the only female (and a brown one, at that) in boardrooms. You put your head down and do your work. Demonstrate capability and outcomes. Raise your hand. That makes a difference. Forget woman and man, the people who are making a difference are those who say, “Oh, I’ll do that”.
PP: There was a point in my career when I was working alongside two peers who happened to be male. I was defining requirements and marketing, and they were building the product. One day, Jim Meadlock, Intergraph CEO came to my office and closed the door. He wanted to tell me he was planning to promote my two peers to Vice President. I think he wanted to see my reaction. I asked, “What about me?” He said, “But you’re a girl.” Those were his exact words. I asked, “Why does that matter, Jim? You’ve watched me since I started at Intergraph.” He said, “Well, if you fail, everybody will say I shouldn’t have promoted her.” I said, “Jim, have I ever failed?” Long story short, the next week, the promotion announcement had me along with the two of them. There is always a time to push back on unfair practices, whether it ultimately works in your favor or not. Despite saying something as idiotic as, “But you’re a girl”, I looked up to Jim. A visionary, he built a great company, and I believed that he cared deeply about people, even if he didn’t always show it.
RK: Final question—what’s your message to younger people?
PP: Stay curious and do the work. That’s it.
RK: Your success—was it luck or hard work?
PP: Luck plays a role in being thrown into certain circumstances. Perhaps, it’s destiny. If I hadn’t married this person, things would have been very different. But you still need a work ethos to make something out of that luck. It seems like that can be innate or something that can be nurtured and learnt.
RK: Okay, I think it’s time. Thank you so much. I learned so many new things about you.
PP: Okay, Ravindra, thank you. I appreciate your time in listening to me ramble.
🛠️ A Selection of Tools from Preetha’s Productivity Arsenal
In our conversation, Preetha revealed two deceptively simple tools that help her stay on top of a demanding schedule while leading with clarity and intent:
-
Dual To-Do Lists in a Spreadsheet
She maintains a clean, ever-visible spreadsheet with two running lists — one for professional tasks and another for personal errands. This system, rooted in accountability, helps her check off responsibilities with satisfaction and ensures nothing slips through the cracks. -
Big-Picture Time Blocking with Hard Constraints
Each year, Preetha maps out her travel and physical commitments using a visual calendar — often in PowerPoint — long before the year begins. By locking in “hard” commitments first (like time with family, reunions, work trips), she builds a structure that allows both work and play to flourish without conflict.
These tools reflect a mindset that blends foresight, discipline, and care — hallmarks of a true Karmyogi.