Get to know our Atlassian User Group Leaders from Bengaluru, India

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Meet @Dinesh Dhinakaran, @Vishnu Vasudeva, @Rajeev Verma, and Jamshid Nalakath: Our extraordinary AUG leaders from Bengaluru, India. These four work together to strengthen the bonds of their local community, increasing their knowledge of Atlassian products, and host some of the biggest AUG events globally. Enjoy this article where you will learn more about them and their favorite AUG moments so far!

What is your role and what Atlassian products do you use?         

Dinesh: My Atlassian journey started in 2008. My first task as Jira admin were to modify Jira for support projects. Now I am working as Atlassian Architect in ANZ, where my team is wholly responsible for NWOW process, and we implement all Atlassian tools except Stride and Status Page.

Vishnu: I work as an Assistant Manager to a Team of Jira Experts at KPMG Global Services. As a team, we design, implement and administer around 20 different instances of JIRA and Confluence. My journey with Atlassian Products started back in 2009 and I was lucky enough to play with almost all Atlassian Products except Status Page and Stash.

Verma: I am Program/Project manager and Agile transformation agent. I use Jira, Confluence, Service Desk, Hipchat, Stride tools from the Atlassian product stack.

Jamshid: I'm the co-founder of Opsten. I use Hipchat and Confluence. 

If someone was nervous or undecided about attending an Atlassian User Group, what would you tell them to convince them to come to your event?

Rajeev: I would tell them the level of knowledge we share in AUG meetup, the kind of interactions we have with different set of people with their unique expertise/skills, it always be delighted to be the part of meet-ups like that where you can gain more and more knowledge in any field related to Atlassian products.

An Atlassian User Group event in Bangalore, India which drew over 90 attendees

What is your favorite memory of Bengaluru AUG? 

Vishnu: My favorite memory, without doubt, was the first AUG Meetup which I hosted as Bengaluru AUG Leader. The event was hosted at my office on the 5th of August in 2017. Surprisingly, close to 90 people gathered and made this event a great success. What makes me feel proud to this day is the fact that people still reference this event in every meetup! 

Dinesh: Actually, all the events are my favorite one but two events are truly standouts. The first one, in 2012, I participated in CCD with 10 members. The second one happened last year (2017) at a grand event in KPMG with 85+ members and a huge response for Bengaluru AUG from the users.

Rajeev: I like all the events since I joined Bengaluru AUG but there are 2-3 events which I like the most. First one was the very first Bengaluru AUG event since I joined, where I was exposed to a whole new AUG world and at what level of communication we do in the form of knowledge sharing, that was amazing. The second most favorite one was which I organized in my company, there were some challenges in order to get everything in place but I love challenges and as an outcome same event recorded highest ever RSVP and joiners we have seen in Bengaluru AUG meetup.

Describe how you work together with your fellow AUG leaders to make sure your events are the best they can be?

Jamshid: My fellow Bengaluru AUG leaders are great to work with. You can be sure that there's always someone to help you in case any problems spring up. The team members share responsibilities for organizing the AUG events. We have been working together for the last year and have been able to organize some of the biggest AUG meetups globally!

Describe one of your favorite / most fun moments at an AUG? 

Vishnu: I really value the wonderful and rare opportunity I get to spend some time with my ex-colleagues :). I have made so many good friends in last 11 years of my IT Career and most of them attend all Bengaluru events regularly. I always cherish the opportunities I have to share casual chats with them. 

Jamshid: The open sessions at the events are the best. There are a lot of interesting discussions, and many times, I've even had to interfere to ensure that the event stays on track. I also love the interactions that we get to have with the fellow AUG members.

Vishnu speaking at an Atlassian User Group event in Bangalore, India

What do you do for fun?

Vishnu: Even though I practice Tabla (a percussion instrument) during my free time, my #1 hobby is traveling and exploring different places and restaurants with my wife Vidya and my camera ;). It really helps me to relax and refresh :)

Dinesh: I like to watch movies, listen to music, and browse the internet to learn new things. 

Jamshid: I play football and spend time with my family.

Rajeev: I like to spend time improving myself, traveling and meeting people across the globe, listening music and watching cricket and TV. Last but not least play with my boy whenever I have the time.

[Steph Beasley]

So excited to watch this community grow even more!

[Kirk J Gould]

I like the way you promote and explain the leadership of your User Group and how you work with the members.