In 2003, Karthik was exactly where you might be today: a fresher software engineer at a small startup, working hard, staying late, and wondering why hard work alone wasn't enough.
Over the next two decades, he grew into a VP & Chief Technology Officer, building and leading global engineering organizations of 100+ people across Apple, Microsoft, HP, Intel, and Jio Platforms.
He has led teams, evaluated performance, developed people, and made promotion decisions. Along the way, he earned 5 granted US patents, a CIO100 Award, a Doctorate in Machine Learning (Generative AI), and advanced management education at IIM Indore.
"Nobody taught me the unspoken rules — I paid for every lesson in this course with years of trial and error. You don't have to."
Every module in The Apprentice is a lesson from this climb: how to manage your boss, protect your credit, speak in meetings, and get promoted — taught by someone who has sat on both sides of the promotion table for two decades.
