We sat down with Tan to learn more about his background, how he came to Revature, his goals for the company, his leadership style and what inspires him. Below is our conversation.

Tell us a bit more about your background.

I began my career as a software engineer writing C code. That said, over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of platforms—from the Unix kernel to developing applications for Microsoft Windows and Cloud. I’ve been in the IT industry close to four decades, and it has given me exposure to many transitions in the technology world.

I'm really grateful for the opportunity to have worked at Infosys for more than half of my working life. I joined the company when there were about 7,000 employees, and it was up over300,000 when I left. I learned more than I ever thought possible. Additionally, thanks to the company culture and the encouragement of my managers and the leadership team, I was able to play a variety of roles, both in business and corporate functions, including being the group head of HR and the global head of education. I have a passion for people development, and I got the opportunity to implement many competency development programs—from apprenticeships to leadership development. And I'm especially proud of having been able to experiment with hiring for skills rather than hiring for degrees. I consider that a significant part of what I was able to do and where I was able to be successful in my career.

What attracted you to Revature and the COO position? 

I was familiar with Revature’s Emerging Talent Program from being a client of the company at Infosys. So, I knew the business model well and how effective it is for training and upskilling top technology talent. I had actually retired from Infosys and then got a call from Ashwin, the company’s co-founder and now executive chairman, giving me the opportunity to be COO, and I couldn’t pass it up. I now have the opportunity to systemically create net new tech talent by enabling a large pool of intellectually curious and deserving individuals, and that's very attractive and exciting for me. There's also the opportunity to pursue my passion for workforce transformation, and most importantly, to make a difference in people’s lives.

What factors do you think contribute to the IT skills gap?

The first is the pace at which technology is changing. It’s so fast that it creates a gap between what technology can do and what people can do with technology. The second factor is that not enough has been done to tap into a larger talent pool. This is what our Total Talent Solution helps to achieve. If we use technology to automate work, create net new skill technology workers through training and upskill the existing technology workforce, then I think the talent gap can be fixed faster than traditional ways of waiting for people to get experience and then hiring them.

What is unique about Revature’s Total Talent Solution, and how will these talent services help close the IT skills gap? 

I think enabling enterprises to build a pipeline of skills-first talent, while simultaneously providing pathways for internal talent within companies to move up through custom programs, makes the Total Talent Solution very unique. The AI-based skills intelligence component creates the skill base of enterprises using the digital footprint of their existing tech talent, and it helps create a roadmap for addressing the IT skills gap through relevant programs, which increases retention while reducing per capita cost. That is really what makes the Total Talent Solution impactful for companies. And I think at a time when the pace of technology change is dictating the pace of business change, it’s important to upskill the existing technology workforce and leverage their knowledge of the culture and environment, rather than depend on hiring talent from the market to succeed in business. The Total Talent Solution also helps with this aspect, which is immensely beneficial to organizations.

What do you hope to help the company achieve in this role? 

Very simply, our collective goal at Revature, as a talent as a service provider, is to become the trusted talent transformation partner for our clients. I know I can help the company accomplish this mission to build the future IT workforce. I plan to do this by implementing simple processes across the talent acquisition, talent development and platforms teams to create an environment that enhances both the client and employee experience as well as increases the overall operational efficiency of the company.

How would you describe your work style?

Practicing the idea of thinking first to understand before being understood has really helped me be an effective team player throughout my career. What I have also found useful to earn people's trust is to keep things simple. Say what you do and do what you say and treat others the way you want to be treated yourself. These principles allow you to be effective in any role. It has certainly worked for me throughout my career.

What trend(s) in the education, training and development market do you see as having the biggest impact on the industry? How will AI play a role specifically? 

I think technology in general and AI in particular have ensured that any learning content is available to a curious learner. So, democratization of content is really a significant outcome of using technology for education. Generative AI (Gen AI) can also be a great thought partner and an enabler of learning. However, to make learning effective, we need to bring these developments together with a time-tested pedagogy and make it impactful for the business, because content is no longer the problem. Companies must use technology in the best ways possible to make learning effective.

Companies can uplevel their education and learning programs by personalizing and customizing the content into bite-sized segments for the learner and their specific role. This helps to make training both engaging and effective. The idea that learning always means that you must take an entire course should be eliminated. Also, these courses quickly lose their shelf life because technology is changing so fast. Learning programs need to be nimble and enable people to feel confident to use and develop technology skills. Facilitating cohort-based learning is critical to learning effectiveness. In short, users will turn to training if it’s tailored to them, updated often and engaging, and technology can help with all of these elements.

What is your life motto? 

For me, it is about equity through education. That objective is really what I want to help achieve, and it’s driven by what I have seen personally in the education programs that I have been involved in over my career. Education can and does make a huge impact in people’s lives. For example, when I was running the apprenticeship program at Infosys, we had people with no degrees but the hunger to learn. They would go through the program, and I could see how it changed them. It changed not only the individual, but also the lives of so many people, including their families. I believe you can create that upward mobility through education. So, to me, equity through education is really my life’s work.

What is your favorite hobby outside of work?

The one activity that gives me a lot of pleasure outside of work is to watch interviews with people from diverse backgrounds because it opens my mind to different perspectives. I watch a variety of people in these interviews—it could be a famous sports person, a film personality, a businessperson or even a Noble Laureate. These videos open my mind to all the things that are possible in this world, and it inspires me.