Builder Story
Why I Kept Getting Promoted
Thirteen years. Not because of tenure. Because every promotion followed the same pattern — identify the gap, build the capability, prove the value, earn the mandate.
2013 — Starting From Zero
Joined Gartner. Not hired to transform anything.
In 2013, Vicky joined Gartner as a Research Data Manager — an individual contributor role at one of the world's most respected research and advisory firms. No transformation mandate. No team to lead. No grand plan.
What he brought was something that does not appear in any job description: the instinct to look beyond the role he was hired for and ask what the business actually needed. He built his reputation not by doing his job well — but by solving problems that were not technically his to solve.
"I was never just doing my job. I was always looking at what was missing around it."
Two years later, that instinct earned him his first promotion. The pattern had started.
2016 — The Handpick
One of five. The mandate: build it from scratch.
In 2016, Gartner Digital Markets decided to establish its first India operations team. The division — home to Capterra, Software Advice and GetApp — needed someone to build a reviews and moderation capability from zero across all three brands.
Vicky was one of five people handpicked to form the founding team. No team. No process. No playbook. Just a mandate, a budget, and the expectation that they would figure it out.
"There was no template. We were the template."
He started with four people. Over the next decade, that team would grow to 200+, span multiple functions, serve three global brands, and become one of the most strategically significant India operations centres in Gartner's global footprint.
2016–2025 — The Expansion
Beyond Moderation. The scope kept expanding.
What began as a Reviews and Moderation mandate did not stay there. Every time Vicky built something that worked, new problems appeared — and he was asked to own them.
Over nine years, the mandate grew to encompass Revenue Operations, Compliance, Sales Support, Sales Enablement, Vendor Management, Marketplace Operations and AI Transformation. Each expansion followed the same pattern: demonstrate capability at the current level, earn the mandate at the next.
"I was never promoted because I asked for it. I was promoted because the business needed someone to own something bigger — and I had already demonstrated I could."
The GCC that started as five people in 2016 became the operational backbone of Gartner Digital Markets India — a revenue-generating, quality-driving, strategy-influencing capability that served three global brands across North America, EMEA and APAC.
2013–2025 — Six Promotions
A visual record of expanding scope and influence.
May 2013 – Apr 2015
Gartner
Individual contributor. Built reputation solving problems beyond formal scope.
Apr 2015 – Oct 2016
Gartner
Expanded scope within Gartner research operations.
Nov 2016 – Aug 2018
Gartner Digital Markets
Handpicked as one of five founding members of GDM India. Built Reviews & Moderation from scratch across Capterra, Software Advice and GetApp.
Sep 2018 – Mar 2020
Gartner Digital Markets
Scope expanded to Revenue Operations and Compliance.
Apr 2020 – Mar 2022
Gartner Digital Markets
Sales Support and Sales Enablement added. AI pilots beginning.
Apr 2022 – Apr 2025
Gartner Digital Markets
Vendor Management and AI Transformation added. Executive Committee membership.
May 2025 – Jan 2026
Gartner Digital Markets
Full P&L visibility. 200+ team. Executive Committee. GCC at full strategic capability.
Feb – Jun 2026
G2
GDM sold to G2. Same role, new parent company.
The Pattern
The same six steps. Every time. Without exception.
Looking back across 13 years, the pattern is unmistakable. It is not a framework Vicky designed — it is the description of what actually happened, repeatedly, across different functions, different mandates and different stages of the GCC's growth.
01
Identify Gap
See what the business needs that nobody owns. Look beyond the job description.
02
Build Buy-In
Get stakeholders aligned before spending resources. Finance. Product. Leadership.
03
Launch Capability
Start small. Use minimal resources. Generate early proof.
04
Prove Value
Measure outcomes against baselines. Make results undeniable before asking for more.
05
Scale Capability
Build infrastructure for 3× current volume. Systems, people, process — in that order.
06
Earn Mandate
The promotion follows the capability. Never the other way around.
2026 — The Transition
Gartner sells GDM to G2. A decade of work moves with it.
In early 2026, Gartner made a strategic decision to divest Gartner Digital Markets — selling the division, including Capterra, Software Advice and GetApp, to G2. This was not a full acquisition of Gartner. It was the sale of the specific division Vicky had spent a decade building.
His role transitioned with the business. VP GDM India Operations became VP India Operations at G2 — same function, same team, new parent company.
"The business changed hands. The team stayed. The work continued. That continuity said everything about what we had built."
Vicky is now open for his next chapter — ready to bring the same pattern of building, scaling and transforming to a new organisation with a harder problem.
Education
IIM Kozhikode
Advanced Strategic Management · 2021
IILM Graduate School
PGDM · Silver Medal · College President · 2009
IHM Jaipur
B.Sc. Hospitality · Trained Chef · 2006