"I moved continents for my career. It changed my life."
At Enate, we believe flexibility isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential. Flexibility empowers our people to excel both personally and professionally. With remote work and a supportive environment, our team can embrace opportunities beyond the office, building lives that genuinely work for them.
This week, we’re spotlighting Kamal Saran, our Head of Product Management and Design. From his early career in India to relocating to Cheltenham, Kamal’s journey highlights how remote, flexible work has enabled him to thrive, not just as a professional but as a husband and father.
Please introduce yourself
I’m Kamal Saran, and I lead Enate's product management and design team. I’ve been with Enate for 10 years, focusing on continuously improving our products to help existing customers gain more value and attract new business.
With experience across all aspects of product development and management, I work to ensure our solutions meet client needs while driving innovation. My passion is delivering user-centred products that enhance customer satisfaction and contribute to Enate’s success.
What motivated your career change from software development to the product side?
I graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science in 2012 and started my career as a developer at a startup in Bangalore, India. It was an amazing experience working in a small company, but I wanted to see what it was like in a larger organisation. So, I moved to Capgemini and Accenture in the same role.
While working for big multinationals, I realised it wasn’t as fulfilling as working in a smaller company. Don’t get me wrong, there were perks, but it wasn’t my thing. To get back to the startup world, I began attending seminars and meetups in Bangalore, which was buzzing with tech innovation back in 2014.
One day, I randomly got a call from Enate about a role in their Bangalore engineering team. The team impressed me, and it felt like the right opportunity. Until then, I hadn’t considered product management as a career, but after spending a few years at Enate, I got exposure to sales, marketing, and the founding team. I realized that my interest in creating products people love, along with my business acumen, suited the product world more than the coding world.
That’s when I approached Enate’s Founder and CTO, Kit Cox, and asked for the chance to lead a project. My first project involved integrating digital workers (RPA at the time) into our business operations platform. It was a success, and that set me on the path to becoming Head of Product Management.
What were the biggest challenges you faced during this transition, and how did you overcome them?
I’m a bit of a perfectionist and love getting into the details, which can be tricky in product management. It’s not always about making things perfect but about running experiments to validate assumptions with customers before investing heavily. Engineers aren’t cheap hires, so you need to focus on solving the most important customer problems.
Spending more time with our customers and end users was key to overcoming this challenge. Enate’s management team was really supportive in helping me engage with customers and understand their needs better, which made a huge difference.
What’s been the most rewarding part of leading the product management team?
The best part is seeing the real business impact of what my team and I do. It’s exhausting for some, but I love the connecting aspect of this role. As Head of Product, you work with a wide range of people. From sales and marketing to developers and designers, and you get to touch everyone’s work in a meaningful way.
Can you tell us about your journey from India to Cheltenham and what motivated your move?
Before we moved to Cheltenham in 2019, I had visited a few times and really liked it. It’s a lot quieter than Bangalore! A big motivator for moving from India to the UK was the time I spent commuting in Bangalore, which was around two hours every day. In Cheltenham, it’s just 20 minutes!
I do miss Bangalore’s energy, but Cheltenham is better for family life. I’m excited for my 9-month-old daughter, Miraya, to grow up here.
How did Enate support you in relocating and adjusting to life in a new country?
Enate was incredibly supportive in helping us settle into our new life. From logistics to paperwork, everyone was friendly and helpful. A few colleagues even helped my wife find a job here, and another even helped me find a place to rent. Now, we’ve bought homes next to each other in a new development area, and we’ve been neighbours for six years. Some of my colleagues have become my best friends. This positive environment is a big part of why my decade at Enate has been so fulfilling.
What do you enjoy most about living in Cheltenham and working at Enate?
Cheltenham’s got great walking spots, and it’s lovely to be able to spend time outdoors with my daughter. The best part, though, is the time I’ve saved with no commute, thanks to remote work. As a new dad, my priority is being with my daughter, and I’m happy to be able to do that now. She loves the outdoors here, even if the weather's totally freezing right now!
What advice would you give to someone considering a similar move or career change?
Moving to a new country is no small feat. It’s a massive life change and you’ll be starting from zero again, which can be hard. Making new friends, finding somewhere to live, finding new hobbies, and adjusting to a new lifestyle. Your family will be impacted too. But if you have a support system like I had at Enate, it’s easier to make the transition.
As for changing careers to product management, things are so different now. 10-15 years ago, there weren’t many clear pathways into this field, and most product careers were accidental. For instance, a Founder of a company falling into the role as no one else was doing it. Nowadays, there’s so much content and study material, and even entire degrees focused on product management, so it’s way easier to break into. If you’re interested, I’d recommend starting with side projects to see if it’s your cup of tea before jumping two feet in. It’s a rewarding job but requires time, energy and a very specific skillset to be successful.
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