Vikas Mehta

Company Reference: 
eBay Classifieds
First Name: 
Vikas
Last Name: 
Mehta
Position/Title: 
GM, eBay Classifieds Italy
Hometown: 
Mumbai, India
Why did you decide to work at [companyname]?: 
A friend of mine, a developer at eBay Classifieds at the time, encouraged me to apply for the Program Manager position at eBay Classifieds. While I already had a good opinion of eBay Classifieds based on my conversations with him, I was very thrilled about the opportunity once I met the team. It was the right blend of challenge, responsibility, and excitement, and I decided in no time that I wanted to be part of this high-energy, vibrant team.
Why do you like working at [companyname]?: 
During my first week, my manager casually remarked that things move at a very fast pace in classifieds, and he couldn't have been more correct. I cannot think of a single week that didn't present a new challenge. We are constantly trying to do more and be faster and better. The drive and commitment is apparent in every product release and every initiative we undertake. I really enjoy working with very bright people who are passionate about their work.
What cool projects have you worked on at [companyname]?: 
An exciting initiative that I'm driving is the migration and setup of all our technology systems; from eBay data centers to new global classifieds data centers. This is a nine month long project with significant complexity and involves several different technology organizations dispersed globally. The challenge is to minimize costs and business disruptions, while making key technology, infrastructure, and setup improvements.
What are your goals at [companyname] - what are you working to achieve?: 
I feel that I have a lot to learn about online classifieds, both technology and business. My immediate goals are to improve our program to best serve our businesses. I am constantly encouraged and supported to enhance the scope and quality of what we deliver as an organization through improvements in planning, communication, quality, predictability, among other factors. My personal goals are to learn and grow professionally as we strive for these organizational goals.
What is your favorite benefit about working at [companyname]?: 
My favorite benefit is the interactions with my local and extended teams. I've met very fascinating people, had interesting discussions and made some good friends.
What has been the most amazing experience you've had at [companyname] thus far?: 
This is a hard question--I would probably say individually, I find the personal investment in employees I've seen to be very unique and worthwhile. While this has manifested itself in many ways, two of my favorites include a manager recommending, encouraging the reading of and discussing a management philosophy book focused on improving operational excellence; and the amount of caring I've seen managers demonstrate when it comes to motivating and fostering a team.
What has been the biggest surprise about working at [companyname]?: 
As part of eBay, I expected the classifieds team to have a "large corporation" culture. eBay Classifieds feels a lot more like a startup than I expected, which supports the fast-paced, nimble business priorities.
If you were to identify a common trait between you and your colleagues, what would it be?: 
To constantly strive for solutions in challenging situations.
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