Rapid 7 - Building a High Performance Team in India: Meet Swami Nathan

Swami Nathan has a track record of building new teams from scratch for global companies. Through his experiences, he’s identified what it takes to build not just any team - but a high performing team that drives innovation and growth for business while propelling career trajectories for those who take the ride. His experience in breaking down silos in tech, driving optimization, and increasing developer & business agility make him the perfect fit to lead the Rapid7 team in Pune, India.

“In today’s world, innovation in areas like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are fundamentally changing the technology landscape at a rapid pace. We need to think about ways to become more nimble in our products, our engineering, and in our ability to listen to our customers so we can stay ahead of the curve. At Rapid7, we want to be on the forefront of this evolution, so we can continue to deliver value to our customers and build a more secure digital future.”

Building excellence through collaboration

Rapid7's culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer centricity provides the ideal environment for building exceptional teams. This environment creates unprecedented opportunities for those seeking to advance their careers and make meaningful contributions through their work.

“When you join a company, you are automatically part of a team. Becoming a high performing team requires a lot of work on the ground, and it’s a transformational journey every colleague  must participate in. Along the way, there is a unique opportunity for every person to uplevel their skills and their profile. The experiences and unique challenges you are going to have, with a company that has the right culture and support systems in place, in an industry where there is an incredible amount of innovation, create an opportunity that not many people have access to, in their careers.”

Characteristics of high-performing teams

Swami shares a few key characteristics that stand out among high performing teams.

They challenge limitations

Some teams have an imaginary boundary when it comes to what they can or cannot do. On a high performing team, there is no boundary to what is possible. Instead, they will question limitations and ask, ‘why not?’

They demand excellence.

As the team begins to grow, they will not accept a B or C level player to join their team. Instead of wanting to be the smartest person in the room, high performing team members actively seek out colleagues they can learn from and who will contribute to the high level of performance.

“There are a few natural side effects when these things happen. First, you improve talent density across your entire company. Green employees are ramping quickly and learning from experts. Seasoned employees are simultaneously coaching those around them, while continuing to uplevel themselves. Second, you drive engagement and collaboration. High performing teams are inspired by the people they work with. They get up in the morning and are motivated for the day ahead because they genuinely look forward to coming to the office and collaborating in person.”

Essential qualities for success at Rapid7

As Rapid7 builds our team, there are key qualities they look for in candidates. For engineers and developers specifically, Swami shares the characteristics he looks for.

Product ownership

Building a product requires a variety of teams who are experts at different phases of the process. Instead of caring solely about their own domain, it’s important for engineers to have a sense of shared ownership over what they are delivering to customers. Great developers may not know everything about QA and testing, but they care enough about what they deliver to understand their role in building a quality product.

Do they have a growth mindset?

The ability to learn and take feedback is essential, especially for those who are early in their career and have not yet developed their technical skills. Being brave enough to ask questions and challenge the status quo will lay a foundation upon which they can build their technical skills.

Impact Through Influence and Action

Having the ability to influence is oftentimes associated with hierarchy or title. Swami challenges this belief and shares that if you have a point of view, are well researched, and can speak intelligently to your stakeholders, these are the factors that determine impact, regardless of your title. A bias for action means that you are looking to take the next step. You are proactive in moving things forward, breaking audacious goals into smaller milestones and action items. If someone can possess these two abilities, Swami knows they are someone who is capable of driving incredible impact in their team, and across the business.

What drew him to Rapid7

Swami joins as the first official full time employee of Rapid7 in India. So what was it that inspired him to take this new role? He credits the experience he has with company executives, and a shared system of beliefs and values with his decision to take the helm in Pune.

“As I was talking with the CEO, and our executive teams, the topics we spoke about did not feel like a traditional interview. Instead, we talked about who we each were as people, and what Rapid7 stands for as a company. As those conversations continued, I was pulled into the culture very naturally. Having a new office in India be strategically tied to the mission and purpose of the business, and how it will help drive such a positive impact for our customers was something that was really inspiring for me.”

Beyond the executive team, Swami shares a common thread that speaks to the company culture and values in action. “My experiences with the executive team and with other leaders across different business areas are all very consistent in terms of how they envision the future of our business. People willingly share information and historical context on their area of expertise, which gives me valuable insights into what we are working to achieve, and what we need as we build our team. It’s not easy to build this kind of consistency in a global organization, so that has continued to impress me throughout my journey here.”

Why join Rapid7 in India?

“What we are looking to do at Rapid7 India is impressive. We are planning for rapid growth this year (which by the way, is less than 10 months!). We don’t want to just build an office in Pune to grow our company headcount - we’re focused on growing high quality talent in a way that enables us to have a positive impact on customers, and deliver to critical business needs. This is a transformational journey that you won’t have anywhere else. We’re thrilled to offer the chance to be one of the first team members in India, contributing to a high performing team, experiencing tremendous personal growth, and delivering critical products and services to our customers.”

Learn more about working at Rapid7 in Pune here.

from Rapid7 Cybersecurity Blog https://blog.rapid7.com/2025/03/04/building-a-high-performance-team-in-india-meet-swami-nathan/