An Interview with Milind Kukday, Chief Delivery and Product Officer, VeriPark

In this edition of Executive Talks, we sat down with Milind Kukday, VeriPark’s Chief Delivery and Product Officer, to discuss his journey, the organizational change uniting product and project teams, and his vision for the future of delivery and innovation at VeriPark.

Q: Milind, can you tell us about your career journey and what led you to join VeriPark?

Absolutely. My career began as a developer at Microsoft, and I quickly moved into technology consulting. After that, I spent nearly 19 years with Accenture, working globally with clients across banking, cards and payments, and wealth management. During that time, I collaborated with numerous product companies, which gave me a unique perspective on both the consulting and product sides of the business.

Late last year, I decided to join VeriPark. It’s been a fantastic opportunity where I get to work on both product and project sides—an experience that is not always available in most organizations. This dual exposure allows me to have a complete view of how we deliver value to our clients.

Q: VeriPark recently brought product and project functions under one umbrella. What does this organizational change mean for the company? 

This was a natural and necessary step for us. In today’s world, projects are an extension of the product. When we take our product lines to clients, we aren’t just delivering software—we’re extending our solutions to solve their real-world challenges.

By aligning products and projects under the same vision, leadership, and governance, we ensure seamless communication, better knowledge transfer, and faster incorporation of client feedback into our products. It breaks down silos, creates agility, and gives us greater control over delivery quality. While every transformation takes time, the early signs are clear: this unified model brings greater agility and tighter alignment between client needs and product evolution.

Q: What are your top priorities for product and delivery in the next 3–6 months?

For delivery, the keyword is nimble. We need to deliver faster, more efficiently, and more effectively. Traditional multi-year projects are no longer viable. We’re transitioning to more agile ways of working, lighter documentation, and governance structures that allow us to move quickly without compromising quality.

For products, our focus is twofold:

• Staying relevant and innovative: We want every feature we build to be simple, intuitive, and easy for clients to consume. Integration is key, and where appropriate, we are infusing features with machine learning and AI to make them smarter.
• Looking ahead: We’re investing heavily in designing future-ready products with intuitive, seamless user interfaces. The goal is to create experiences that anticipate user needs—software that feels natural to use.

Q: How do you see VeriPark’s competitive advantage in delivery?

It’s not just about being better—it’s about doing things differently. Our strength lies in deeply understanding our clients’ business problems and aligning our delivery approach to solve them. Better client alignment leads to better adoption, which in turn drives success.

Delivery is about building trust—doing what we promise, providing a safe and reliable environment, and ensuring smooth implementation so that our clients can focus on creating value.

Q: You spoke about innovation. How do you define it at VeriPark?

Innovation doesn’t always have to be ground-breaking. Even small changes that improve efficiency and make the user experience more intuitive are innovation. For example, if a bank teller currently needs three clicks to get a piece of information, and we can make that happen with a single click or voice command, that’s innovation.

Our product teams are encouraged to think about innovation as an everyday activity. The “when” and “how” matter as much as the “what.” It’s about anticipating what users want before they even ask. It’s about delivering the right feature at the right time, in the most intuitive way possible. 

Q: AI is a hot topic right now. What’s VeriPark’s approach?

Our strategy is to build AI into our products from the ground up—not just add AI as a “nice-to-have” feature. Rather than treating AI as an add-on, VeriPark is embedding intelligence into the core of its products — with a focus on measurable outcomes, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.

We are mindful of regulatory and data privacy considerations, especially since we work with sensitive financial data. Our aim is not to have AI everywhere, but to use it in the right places to deliver maximum value and differentiation for our clients. We’ve identified 40 high-impact use cases and are carefully designing AI-driven features where they truly make a difference.

Q: On a personal note, you are known for your energy and positivity. What keeps you motivated?

Discipline plays a big role. I start my day with a workout—it’s non-negotiable for me. I spend time with my wife before work, which keeps me grounded, and then I dive into the day with full focus.

I also believe that when you wake up in the morning and genuinely look forward to work, you know you are in the right place. That sense of purpose drives me to solve problems and keep growing.

Q: What should financial institutions prioritize in the next 12 months to stay competitive in the age of AI?

Focus on three things: actionable data, responsible AI, and faster delivery. Start with clean, connected data so models can drive real decisions. Build AI features where they measurably improve journeys—origination, service, collections—while meeting privacy and regulatory requirements. And shorten release cycles so value lands in weeks, not quarters.