Meet  Shireen Santosham, Chief Innovation Officer in Mayor Sam Liccardo’s office of San Jose. We sat down to speak with her about her role as a Chief Innovation Officer about building a smart city. How do you harness technology to improve the lives of denizens of this Silicon Valley city? How do you improve digital infrastructure of the city? How do you deal with connected cars and autonomous vehicles that are fast becoming a reality? How do you build San Jose into a smart, sustainable and innovative city by 2020?

Santosham is acutely aware on how technology can help improve the lives of people. Previously she was with a telecom organization and worked on how to bridge the divide for women globally. Women are less likely to use and own a mobile phone she points out.

Santosham grew up in an Indian reservation in Arizona where both her parents served as doctors. She thought she would follow her parents footsteps, but opted to study finance for her undergraduate and got an MBA from Harvard University.

This interview aired on TV in the US and is part of our Women in Science, Tech & Business series sponsored by Zoho Corp.

Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where we feature new interviews.