Nvidia hit 1$ trillion value mark, what makes a great leader?
Also, we will look at career transition journey of a product lead from McKinsey and attributes of great leaders.
Hello readers,
This week’s tidbits:
Recommendation of the week
Nvidia hits 1$ trillion value mark
An Unpredicted Journey of Diverse Passions: from physics to product expert
What makes a great leader?
Recommendation of the week
“Collective Genius” by Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau and Emily Truelove
Great leaders of innovation don’t fit the conventional mold of “good” leadership. They’re not visionaries who set direction and inspire others to follow. Instead, they create the context in which others are both willing and able to innovate. As one leader said, “My job is to set the stage, not to perform on it.”
Nvidia hits 1$ trillion value mark
May 30 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) briefly joined an elite club of U.S. companies sporting a $1 trillion market value on Tuesday, as investors piled into the chipmaker that has quickly become one of the biggest winners of the AI boom.
The stock's value has tripled in less than eight months, reflecting the surge in interest in artificial intelligence following rapid advances in generative AI, which can engage in human-like conversation and craft everything from jokes to poetry.
"We view Nvidia as the most important company on the planet in an era that is rapidly changing towards one that will be emphasized by greater AI capabilities," CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said.”
Source: Reuters
Nvidia has been all the rage last week after it announced its major contributions in generative AI space (see demo below). In many ways, its not surprising how market reacted to the Nvidia’s announcements since its products services many different sectors of the economy from healthcare to tech to banking to oil and gas and so on. That definitely put Nvidia in a strategic space to be part of cross-sectoral growth.
And while all of this was happening, Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, was enjoying the street food in Taipei during the night. This picture reminded me something from Steve Job’s biography when he was asked about how he looked at money aspects (or something like that), and his response was that once Apple reached 50$ million in revenue he knew that he didn’t have to worry about money any more.
In some ways, I suppose this highlights the human side of equation that while individual pursuits for financial independence takes its toll, those who have financial freedom knows that it’s important to enjoy simple joys of life (whenever you can).
An Unpredicted Journey of Diverse Passions: from physics to product expert
Last week I sat down with Melanie Krawina, who is a product lead at McKinsey & Company, to learn about her career journey which she successfully navigated from physics to product development. Join me as she reflects on her journey, in the section below, from her early days studying physics to her current role as a business builder and product expert at McKinsey.
⚛️ The Foundation: Physics
My interests in how the universe is built already began during my high school years and thus studying physics was the only logical next step for me. Unfortunately, I was one of a few since the female share within STEM fields at university in Austria is currently around ~33% [1] - Far from parity and lagging behind European leaders like Greece, Sweden, and Estonia. Still fascinated by the intricacies of particle and sub-particle physics, I dedicated myself to understanding the fundamental building blocks of matter. From quantum physics, to the radiation protection, and nuclear fusion, I found an answer to everything besides one big question: what am I supposed to do after university?
👩💻 The stage setter: Diving into Software Development
On a quest on figuring out what my career could look like, I took an unexpected leap into the realm of software development within the automotive industry. Even though I did a fair share of coding during university, I was far from being an industry-ready developer. However, I had a male sponsor and mentor at this company, that saw capability and will in me, and he went out of his way to create an opportunity. This is something, a lot of women in tech lack today. Data shows while 92% of women feel confident in their ability to do their job, they lack serious sponsoring and opportunities from their (male) leaders and hence, 70% of women still feel like they need to work harder to prove themselves [2]. I was one of few and had the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects, that contributed to the development of software systems that powered the next generation of automotive technologies.
This experience honed my ability to write efficient code, work within a team, and adapt to rapidly evolving technologies—a set of skills that would prove invaluable in my future endeavour's.
👩🔬 The academic: Embracing the Enigma of CERN
After applying to Tesla and successfully failing, I sought an opportunity to challenge myself in the field of experimental physics and applied for the renowned European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Within the "Radiation to Electronics" team, I embarked on a captivating journey of radiation experiments, and cutting-edge research. Here, my focus shifted to predicting radiation damage on electronic systems relevant for accelerators and space applications, through the use of python scripts and Monte Carlo simulations. This intricate work allowed me to blend my physics background with my software development skills, enabling me to analyze and forecast the effects of radiation on electronic systems. What held me behind was a lack of apprenticeship, seeing a long-term career opportunity in research, and the lack of other female engineers and scientist. Thus, after a whirlwind or two years, I realized that my career aspirations extended beyond the confines of Meyrin, and I was looking for a new adventure that would push the boundaries of my skills further.
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