Karthikeyan Paalankishe

About Karthikeyan Paalankishe

I’m a product and program leader focused on building secure, intelligent and human-centered engineering organizations that scale. Over the last two decades I’ve shaped transformation across Microsoft, Lifesize and Motorola, translating business vision into systems, strategies and teams that deliver measurable impact.At Microsoft I help drive the company’s security transformation, aligning AI, product and engineering strategy across Azure, Edge and Platform. My work centers on creating operating models that embed security-by-design principles, accelerate developer velocity and deepen customer trust at global scale.Previously at Lifesize I led the company’s evolution from hardware to SaaS, improving development efficiency by 30 percent and driving double-digit revenue growth through agile transformation and disciplined execution.I believe clarity drives scale. My approach blends strategy and empathy, bringing together people, process and technology to build organizations that innovate responsibly and operate with purpose.Focus Areas: Security and AI Strategy • Product Transformation • Scalable Engineering Systems • Cloud Programs • Organizational Design • Business Resilience

Experience

1. Principal Security Pm Manager

   Microsoft

   Mar 2025 — Present · Redmond, WA, US

   I lead Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, driving company-wide security transformation across Azure, Edge and Platform by embedding security-by-design principles and making impact measurable and scalable.()- Lead Microsoft’s flagship security transformation program, shaping strategy, governance and execution across Azure, Edge and Platform with more than engineers- Strengthened cross-organizational protocols and improved product resilience through standardized frameworks, metrics and operational visibility- Enabled data-informed leadership decisions through scalable dashboards and analytics that connect technical posture directly to business outcomes- Guided adoption of AI-informed security design, integrating intelligence-driven workflows into engineering pipelines to enhance proactive risk detection- Improved developer productivity and collaboration across distributed teams, aligning product innovation with enterprise security and compliance goals- Partnered with CVPs, VPs and senior product leaders to ensure executive alignment between technical strategy and organizational mission- Established unified security metrics and governance frameworks to quantify risk reduction and operational readiness- Advanced customer trust through transparent reporting and visible improvements in secure engineering maturity- Build a culture of security as innovation, promoting agility, reliability and protection as core parts of Microsoft’s engineering mindset- Mentor and develop product and program managers, strengthening cross-functional communication, prioritization and delivery discipline.

Education

• Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, BANGALORE

  Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering

  1996 — 2000

• Symbiosis centre for distance learning

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Marketing/Marketing Management, General

  2002 — 2004

Skills

• Close Attention to Detail
• Voice Over Ip (Voip)
• Software Project Management
• Ms Project
• Voip
• Agile Project Management
• Project Planning
• Product Management
• Perseverance
• Internet Protocol (Ip)
• Switches
• Ip
• Release Management
• Requirements Analysis
• Pmp
• Leadership
• Program Management
• Vendor Management
• Sip
• Risk Management
• Team Management
• Testing
• Process Improvement
• Project Management
• Call Processing
• Pre-Sales
• Jira
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Sdlc
• Solution Architecture
• Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc)
• Telecommunications
• Product Development
• Resource Management
• Routing
• Ss7
• Interpersonal Communication Abilities
• Agile Methodologies
• Management