About

The short version

I’m a technologist who still writes code, a founder who still builds, and a leader who believes the best decisions come from people who haven’t lost touch with the craft.

I’ve spent 34 years in technology — across Wall Street, startups, and everything in between. Today I’m Co-Founder and CTO of OptionsPlay, where we make options trading accessible to everyday investors. I lead all technology strategy, engineering, and infrastructure. We’re self-funded, profitable, and integrated with some of the largest financial platforms in the industry.

The longer version

I started my career in the early ’90s, building systems on Wall Street. Good pay, cubicle life, not much room to think differently. I learned a lot about scale and reliability. I learned more about what I didn’t want my career to be.

The pull toward startups was always there. The uncertainty, the creative freedom, the feeling that what you build actually matters — I gravitated toward that, even when the safer path was obvious. I’ve been part of startups that didn’t get off the ground, startups that flattered to deceive, and one that’s been running for thirteen years and counting.

Along the way, I developed a habit of betting early. SaaS architecture before Salesforce existed. Azure when everyone said AWS. AI-augmented development before most CTOs figured out how to use ChatGPT. I’m not always right, but the pattern has been: trust what you see, not what the consensus says.

What I believe

Complexity should serve clarity. The best technology takes sophisticated systems and makes them accessible to people who shouldn’t need a PhD to benefit from them. That principle runs through everything I’ve built.

Experience is the unfair advantage. In the age of AI, everyone talks about tools as the equalizer. I’ve lived the counterargument. AI is a force multiplier — and what it multiplies is everything you already bring. Thirty years of pattern recognition, judgment, and scar tissue don’t become less valuable when AI arrives. They become the leverage.

The best leaders still build. I’ve never believed that “Chief” in your title means stepping away from the work. The best technology decisions come from leaders who understand the terrain because they’re still walking it.

Science and spirituality are not enemies. I meditate. I read Krishnamurti and the Gita. I also debug distributed systems and obsess over latency. These things don’t conflict. They complete each other.

Beyond work

I’m a photographer — mostly street and travel. I play tennis twice a week and have strong opinions about Roger Federer. I meditate daily, wake up early, and believe that a glass of Lagavulin 16 by the fireplace solves most problems that code can’t.

I grew up in Southern India, the son of a remarkable man who built a career in the film industry starting with nothing. My mother, now battling Parkinson’s with extraordinary strength, taught me resilience without ever using the word.

I live in the New York area with my wife — without whom none of this would have been possible. That’s not a figure of speech. It’s a fact.

Selected writing

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