Tredence is a global data science solutions provider focused on solving the last mile problem in AI. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tredence Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Innovation Officer Soumendra Mohanty to learn more about the company.
Soumendra Mohanty’s Background
What is Soumendra Mohanty’s background? Mohanty said:
“My leadership philosophy revolves around empathy, collaboration, and empowerment. In today’s fast-paced and dynamic environment, especially at Tredence, where most employees are in their late 20s to early 30s, the traditional top-down leadership approach is no longer effective. Leadership now is about listening, guiding, and providing space for people to thrive.
At Tredence, this means focusing on building relationships and fostering a culture of continuous learning. By actively engaging with the team daily, I encourage open communication and collaborative problem-solving. I prioritize giving my teams the tools, knowledge, and support they need to succeed while empowering them to take ownership of their projects. It’s about trusting the team to deliver while offering guidance when necessary. This creates an environment where everyone feels accountable and engaged, driving both personal and organizational growth.
Every day, I make sure to be approachable and visible, whether through regular check-ins, listening sessions or informal team meetings. The goal is to create a leadership style that enables and empowers people to excel, rather than just managing them toward set outputs.”
Vision Of The Industry Over The Next Few Years
What’s your vision for Tredence and the industry in the next 5-10 years? Mohanty noted:
“The next decade is set to be transformative for AI and data analytics, and Tredence is positioned to be a leader in this revolution. The data industry is evolving rapidly, with AI becoming central to decision-making across all sectors. While it’s hard to predict beyond three years due to the pace of technological change, the role of data-driven insights and generative AI will only grow. Every business is becoming a tech business, and Tredence is at the forefront of helping companies make that transition.
Our GenAI-as-a-Service platform exemplifies this transformation. The platform is designed to make generative AI accessible to a broader range of enterprises by streamlining the adoption process. We’ve already seen success with top Fortune 500 companies across verticals using the platform, which demonstrates its scalability and value. With companies set to increase their AI budgets by 3.4 times, as reported by IBM, Tredence’s platform helps clients navigate the complexity, cost, and ethical issues surrounding AI deployment. By reducing solution development costs by 40% and operational costs by 25%, we’re proving that generative AI can be adopted in a cost-effective and responsible manner.
Beyond generative AI, sustainability, data privacy, and cybersecurity will also shape the future. We’re committed to building solutions that prioritize ethical AI governance, ensuring that as AI becomes more integrated into business processes, it is done so responsibly. Our Gen AI Center focuses on this, providing clients with frameworks to adopt AI while maintaining transparency, accountability, and fairness.
Looking ahead, Tredence is on a path of strong growth through targeted acquisitions and strategic expansion. Our ATOM.AI platform, along with our commitment to driving generative AI adoption, will enable us to help clients across industries solve their most pressing business challenges. Tredence’s ability to combine cutting-edge AI technologies with deep industry expertise will make us a leader in this new era of data-driven transformation.”
Challenges Faced As A Leader
Can you share a challenge you faced as a leader and how you overcame it? Mohanty acknowledged:
“One of the biggest leadership challenges I’ve encountered is learning how to lead the new generation of employees, who are highly informed, dynamic and willing to challenge established norms. This generation has more access to information than ever before, and they approach work with a different mindset—one that values learning opportunities, flexibility and purpose over traditional hierarchies and task-based work. This is vastly different from previous generations, where job security and predefined roles were paramount.
To overcome this, I’ve had to shift my leadership approach from simply providing direction to developing a 360-degree understanding of my team’s needs and aspirations. I learned that being a leader today isn’t just about giving orders; it’s about listening deeply, empathizing and adapting to the unique motivations and goals of each employee. Leadership now is about creating an environment where people feel understood, respected and free to explore new ideas.
Practically, this has meant fostering a culture where feedback flows both ways and leadership is transparent and approachable. For example, I regularly put myself in my team members’ shoes, considering not just what tasks need to be completed, but how we can create mutual benefits that align the individual’s goals with the company’s objectives. Through empathizing, active listening and empowering employees to take risks and innovate, I’ve overcome the challenge of leading this dynamic, highly knowledgeable workforce.”
Encouraging Innovation
How do you encourage innovation across your teams? Mohanty emphasized:
“Innovation at Tredence isn’t something we leave to chance—it’s purposeful, strategic and driven by real business needs. Rather than experimenting for experimentation’s sake, we focus on solving problems that matter to our clients. This innovation is fueled by four main channels:
- Client feedback: We constantly engage with our clients to understand their pain points and business challenges. This customer-centric approach ensures that our innovation is grounded in real-world needs.
- Technology partnerships: Collaborating with industry leaders like Databricks, Google Cloud Platform and Azure allows us to co-develop new solutions and extend our technological capabilities. These partnerships help us stay at the forefront of AI and data analytics innovation.
- Internal insights: We don’t just look outward for innovation; we also turn inward. Our employees are encouraged to share ideas on how to improve processes, enhance operational efficiency and adopt new technologies. This results in a constant stream of internal innovation.
- Industry trends: We closely follow industry reports and trends from analysts like Forrester and Gartner. These insights guide our R&D efforts and help us anticipate market needs before they arise.
Through these channels, we’ve co-innovated more than 20 industry solutions in areas like demand forecasting, revenue growth management and supply chain modernization. These innovations have been widely adopted by our clients, thanks to our strong focus on delivering measurable business outcomes. Our significant R&D investment, supported by $205 million in funding, allows us to continue leading the way in cutting-edge AI and data analytics solutions.”
Key Trends Shaping The Industry
What key trends are shaping the industry, and how is Tredence positioned to capitalize on them? Mohanty explained:
“Several trends are shaping the future of AI and data analytics, and Tredence is in a prime position to capitalize on them:
- Generative AI: The rapid rise of generative AI is transforming industries across the board. Our GenAI-as-a-Service platform helps businesses harness the potential of AI by offering end-to-end deployment solutions, infrastructure optimization and responsible AI governance. This platform has already reduced development costs by 40% for clients and is set to drive even greater results as demand for AI grows.
- Sustainability and ESG: With sustainability becoming central to business operations, AI solutions that promote the circular economy and reduce waste will become increasingly important. Tredence is already working with clients to embed sustainability-focused AI into their business models.
- Data privacy and security: As regulations around data privacy tighten—especially in the EU—our solutions help businesses stay compliant while leveraging data for innovation. We put heavy emphasis on data security and responsible AI practices, ensuring that our clients’ AI deployments meet ethical and regulatory standards.
- Cybersecurity: The rise of AI-driven cyber threats means businesses need robust AI-powered security solutions. Tredence is working on AI solutions that not only protect businesses but also help them stay ahead of potential threats.
- Responsible AI: Our Gen AI Center is focused on ensuring that businesses implement AI ethically. We’re working with clients to develop AI solutions that are transparent, accountable and fair—helping them navigate the ethical challenges that come with deploying AI technologies.
With our strong partnerships, cutting-edge platforms and commitment to responsible AI, Tredence is well-positioned to lead in these key areas.”
Successful Strategic Partnerships
Have there been any recent strategic initiatives or partnerships that have been particularly successful? Mohanty highlighted:
“Absolutely. Tredence’s success can be directly linked to its strategic partnerships with leading technology providers and hyperscalers, such as Azure, OpenAI, Databricks, Snowflake, and Google Cloud Platform. These collaborations have allowed us to co-innovate and deliver industry-specific solutions that address key business challenges across sectors like retail, financial services, healthcare,e and manufacturing.
For example, through our partnerships, we’ve co-developed solutions in areas like demand forecasting, personalization, supply chain management and on-shelf availability. These solutions have been widely adopted by clients and have delivered measurable results. Additionally, our collaboration with NVIDIA has helped us develop AI-powered capabilities that are at the forefront of innovation.
These partnerships, combined with our strong R&D investments—enabled by $205 million in funding—have driven significant business impact. This funding has also allowed us to expand globally, acquire new expertise and invest in next-generation AI solutions that will continue to drive growth.”
Top Priorities For 2025
What are your top priorities for 2025 from Tredence’s perspective? Mohanty pointed out:
“As we look ahead to 2025, Tredence’s priorities will center around growth, innovation and expansion:
- M&A activities: We are exploring targeted mergers and acquisitions that will allow us to expand our capabilities and deepen our expertise in critical verticals and technologies.
- Geographical expansion: Europe and the Middle East are key regions where we see significant opportunities for growth, and we’re focused on expanding our footprint in these markets.
- Strengthening alliances: Our partnerships with Azure, Databricks and other tech giants will continue to deepen, as we look to co-develop even more innovative solutions for our clients.
- Internal technology adoption: We’re focused on using the latest AI and data analytics technologies internally to streamline our operations and continuously upskill our workforce.
- Workforce upskilling: With new technologies coming to the forefront, upskilling our teams will remain a top priority to ensure we stay ahead in delivering cutting-edge solutions.
Our ATOM.AI platform and GenAI-as-a-Service platform will continue to play a pivotal role in helping clients integrate data, AI, and cloud technologies to solve complex business challenges.”
Staying Ahead Of The Curve
How do you stay ahead of the curve in an evolving industry, especially with AI and GenAI investments? Mohanty revealed:
“Staying ahead in a rapidly changing industry requires continuous investment in R&D and strong partnerships with industry leaders. At Tredence, we stay at the forefront by focusing on innovation, agility and strategic partnerships. Our GenAI-as-a-Service platform is a prime example of how we’re helping businesses deploy AI effectively and responsibly, offering end-to-end support from development to deployment.
Additionally, our focus on responsible AI governance ensures that we’re not just innovating for the sake of it—we’re committed to deploying AI solutions that are fair, transparent and ethical. Through our Gen AI Center, we provide clients with the tools and guidance they need to implement responsible AI practices, ensuring that AI’s impact is both positive and sustainable.
Our strong relationships with hyperscalers and our internal investments in workforce upskilling ensure that we’re not just reacting to changes in the industry; we’re anticipating them and helping our clients stay ahead of the curve.”
Advice For Aspiring Leaders
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders in your field? Mohanty concluded:
“Leadership today is about more than just creating a vision and executing it. Empathy, communication, and adaptability are the core traits that aspiring leaders need to develop. As AI and technology take over more routine tasks, the human element of leadership will become more important. It’s crucial to build relationships, understand what motivates your team, and inspire them to take ownership of their work.
My advice is to always lead by example. Be willing to listen, adap,t and continuously learn. The ability to empower your team while keeping the big picture in mind will set you apart in this field. As technology evolves, so must leadership. Understanding the softer aspects of leadership—like empathy and emotional intelligence—will be just as important as your strategic vision.”
