(November 11, 2025) When Gandhi Mathi Nathan Kumar boarded a flight from Mumbai in 2014, he carried with him just two check-in bags and a lifetime’s worth of ambition. A decade later, as Principal Incident Commander at the American cloud communications company Twilio, he leads responses to high-priority incidents impacting its global suite of products and services across continents, with calm precision. Driving innovation in AI-powered reliability systems, he has worked towards how technology anticipates and resolves challenges in real time. His journey from a modest Tamil household to the technological nerve center of the United States is one of perseverance, transformation, and remarkable growth.
At the forefront of reliability and AI innovation
Named among the Top 50 People Making the World More Reliable by Rootly, Gandhi has emerged as a respected voice in reliability engineering, with AI innovation and operational excellence to his credit. His story came full circle this October when he revisited his alma mater, Oklahoma State University (OSU), to serve as a judge for the 2025 Big 12 MBA Case Competition — a platform where aspiring business leaders translate classroom insights into real-world solutions. During the visit, he expressed his intent to establish a scholarship in his daughter’s name, a gesture born of gratitude toward the institution that first opened global doors for him. “From two bags to a home in Seattle, and a fulfilling career in the United States, it’s been a journey of gratitude,” he shares with Global Indian in a chat.
Ever curious and adaptive, Gandhi has emerged as a leadership voice at the forefront of emerging technologies. His work has carried him into global tech conversations like being featured by PagerDuty, the leading AI-powered operations platform that his team at Twilio partners with, and speaking at an online international tech conference about his innovation, and the mindful use of AI. Through these engagements, he champions a balanced view of technology that values precision, purpose, and above all, the human element at its core.
Gandhi has helped create significant impact in the AI space by developing GPT models that help reduce time for incident communication summary generation to under one minute from 10 minutes. He has also been a subject matter expert at independent research firms like KS&R, Dedale, AlphaSights, Coleman Research, GLG & Guidepoint who reach out to him for expert opinion on incident response tools, processes and ideas.
Global horizons of a bus conductor’s grandson
Gandhi’s story begins in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, where his grandfather worked as a bus conductor selling tickets, raising four children, and teaching them the dignity of labour. “My father always told me his parents would buy him one uniform for Diwali so he could use it for school too,” Gandhi recalls.. “Food was limited, and everything was a competition. But education was non-negotiable.”
That ethos of education as the ladder out of limitation propelled Gandhi’s father, the youngest of four, to become an engineer like his brothers. He rose through the ranks of Tata Communications to retire as Deputy General Manager in 2021. “He moved from Tamil Nadu to Mumbai in 1995 without knowing Hindi or Mararthi,” says the U.S. based professional. “That resilience shaped me as a child. I wanted to take it one step further, and to push that boundary ahead for the next generation.”
A Mumbai childhood that shaped a leader’s vision
Born and raised in Mumbai, Gandhi’s early years were steeped in the city’s restless energy. “I speak, read, and write Marathi fluently,” he says with pride. “Mumbai taught me how to coexist with differences. It’s a city that forces you to adapt.” He studied engineering in Mumbai and began his career at Tata Communications before moving to Vodafone, cutting his teeth in telecommunications. “I started as a Level 1 Analyst handling client calls,” he says. “It taught me humility to understand the customer’s pain firsthand.” Those early lessons in empathy and persistence would later define his leadership style. “Strong values and ethics around putting customers first. That’s where it all began.”
The two bags that carried a dream
After five years in India’s corporate sector, Gandhi made the decision to pursue a master’s degree in telecommunications management in the United States. “I literally moved here with two check-in bags. That’s all I had,” he recalls. “Everything else was uncertain.”
An elated Gandhi at his graduation ceremony at the Oklahoma State University
Gandhi had earned a fully funded RA Bass Memorial scholarship for his master’s and landed at Oklahoma State University in “the middle of the US.” He found himself navigating not just academics but a new culture, and even worked for the University Dining Services. Later, he was recognized as an Outstanding Student in Telecommunications Management (2015). That milestone was the start of a new life in America but not without struggle. “There was no family here, no one to fall back on. You learn to be mentally very strong because there’s no one coming to say, ‘It’s okay, I’m there for you.’” There were also visa hurdles. “Getting the H1B visa was a lottery,” he explains. “I got picked on the third attempt which was the last possible one. Every year was a cliffhanger.”
Seven states, one goal
Gandhi’s early years in the U.S. were marked by constant motion. “I moved across seven states with just those two bags—Oklahoma to Colorado, Colorado to California, California to Delaware, Delaware to Nevada, and finally Washington,” he says. “Every move was in search of a better job, a better opportunity.” His first role was with IHS Markit as a client incident manager. “Even though I had experience in India, I was treated as a fresher,” he laughs. But he persevered, taking each move a stepping stone. Next came Panasonic Avionics, where he managed in-flight internet connectivity. “I handled incidents related to aircraft antennas and onboard systems,” he recalls. “When you’re flying and using Wi-Fi, someone like me was behind that experience.”
When Panasonic’s visa filing didn’t work out, Gandhi didn’t give up. Barclays hired him, he filed his visa again, and this time, it was approved. “I moved to Delaware, then Las Vegas, and eventually became VP of Collections and Product Management,” he says. “Every move came with uncertainty, but I was chasing growth. I was in my twenties. I could take risks.” The persistence eventually paid off.
Gandhi with his Outstanding Student Award
Engineering reliability at scale from Barclays to Twilio
Today, Gandhi Mathi Nathan Kumar serves as Principal Incident Commander at Twilio, a role that combines deep technical expertise with high-stakes decision-making. “I lead responses to high-priority incidents across Twilio’s global products,” he explains. “When something breaks, I’m the one coordinating teams to restore services.” Twilio’s products; SMS, voice, email, and APIs power communication for millions worldwide. Gandhi’s leadership ensures that these services remain resilient. “We’re driving a cultural change,” he says. “We’re integrating AI into incident management to make processes seamless and less human-dependent.”
He describes his work as both technical and human. “During a critical outage, I’m working closely with customer-facing teams to enhance and improve the customer experience. Focused, automated alerts and smart incident response help us stay calm, informed, and always ready.” His career now blends technology, leadership, and empathy.
At the forefront of AI
In one of his most innovative projects, Gandhi and his team built a Slack-based AI bot designed to simplify complex incident coordination. “We used Windmill to connect OpenAI with every internal tool we use like Zoom, Slack, FireHydrant, and Confluence so that responders can get real-time answers in seconds,” he explains. “Simple commands can ask what you want and get contextual information instantly.” The bot can even adopt different “personas” — technical, managerial, or customer-facing, producing quick, accurate summaries and status updates that save valuable time during outages.
Gandhi Mathi Nathan Kumar
He recently shared these insights at a tech forum, calling out the importance of intentional AI use. “The whole industry is going around the AI buzz, and I think using AI for the right tasks to solve the right problems is actually the real, legit way of using AI.”
As part of Twilio’s partnership with PagerDuty, Gandhi’s team now relies on AI-driven event orchestration to process tens of thousands of alerts every month. “A lot of our SLAs are super aggressive. There’s only a few minutes in a year that we can be down,” he notes. “AI apps have made a significant drop in the number of alerts. They are more meaningful, more targeted, and more focused.” His approach is a blend of human insight and machine efficiency ensuring Twilio’s systems stay calm when the world isn’t.
Success measured in simple joys
For someone who has earned industry honors and recognition, Gandhi’s sense of achievement still remains deeply personal. Despite the titles and professional acclaim, he measures his success in simple joys. Ask him about his proudest moments, and he points to the symbolic ones like buying a home in Seattle, paying off his car, and watching his parents visit him in the U.S. “Those are the milestones that stay with you,” he says.
Also, revisiting his alma maters in India and the United States holds special significance for him. Whether judging student case competitions at Oklahoma State University or returning to his engineering college in Mumbai to evaluate case studies and mentor students, Gandhi looks at these experiences with a sense of nostalgia. For him, they are not just opportunities to share knowledge, but moments that reconnect him with his roots.
Gandhi with his parents at his graduation ceremony at OSU
Life beyond work
Behind the engineer’s discipline lies an artist’s eye. Gandhi has been a photographer since the age of 16, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and life’s fleeting moments. His work has appeared in publications like Space.com and event photography circuits. “It’s not for money. It’s pure passion,” he says. “It gives me happiness and calm.”
Today, most of his photography revolves around his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, whom he affectionately calls “extremely mischievous and joyful.” His wife, a computer scientist at Adobe, shares his high-paced lifestyle. Their shared rhythm, he says, is built on respect and teamwork. “Our days start at 6 a.m. and end around 10 p.m. We do everything ourselves with no family help like back home, no shortcuts. But that’s what makes it meaningful.”
The mental game
For Gandhi, balance isn’t about time but about perspective. “Work-life balance is not physical; it’s mental,” he explains. “You have to be your own judge of how much energy you have. I take a 30-minute lunch break daily, no matter how busy I am and try not to eat at my desk. It’s these small actions that give your mind space.” He and his wife often go on evening walks before picking up their daughter from daycare. “Those 30 minutes make a big difference,” he says. “You don’t need to do grand things for balance. It’s about doing small things consistently.”
Leadership lessons for the next generation
As someone who’s lived both the struggle and success of a global career, Gandhi has powerful advice for those starting out. “Don’t run behind money,” he says firmly. “When you’re young, take risks. Fail, learn, experiment. You have that liberty. Once you have a family, you have to be more cautious.” He also emphasizes the importance of community. “Eighty to ninety percent of your success will come from other people, not yourself,” he explains. “Make genuine connections, stay humble, and be available to help others. The good you send out comes back.”
Gandhi with fellow judges at the UW Foster School of Business Case Study Competition
Full Circle: The journey of the bus conductor’s grandson
From the family of a bus conductor in Tirunelveli to a global tech leader in Seattle, Gandhi Mathi Nathan Kumar’s journey is all about growth and a generational relay with each passing the baton of progress a little further. As he leads Twilio’s AI-driven reliability transformation, one thing remains unchanged: the humility of a man who began with two bags and a dream, and built a life measured not just by milestones, but by meaning. His Indian values remain his anchor. “Whenever I go home, I try to give back, and to contribute in whatever way I can,” he says. “That connection to your roots keeps you grounded,” he signs off.
Hard work, thirst for growth, smartness of using knowledge ,and humble behavior , inspires the world of growth
GANDHI you are one among them