Raghu Challapilla
​
Agile Transformation Coach, Org Design & Org Change Management Expert, Professional Coach, Facilitator, Trainer
Evoking transformation in people, teams, and organizations
The key to my success is my ability to bring people together, inspire them with a strong vision, co-create a roadmap towards achieving the vision, and continuously fuel the momentum with quick wins by instrumenting iterative delivery
​
Who am I?
I am a pragmatic Enterprise Lean-Agile Transformation Coach, Organizational Change Artist, Professional Life Coach, Collaboration Expert, and Professional Trainer with a passion for steering individuals, teams, and organizations towards expressing their full potential.
I have led at Agile transformations at multiple large scale organizations across the globe.
While I spend most of my time unleashing the group genius in organizations, I equally enjoy facilitating transformative growth within individuals through one-on-one coaching outside the organizational context.
I coach and train executives, ScrumMasters, Product Owners, and teams on Agile principles, lean philosophy, and 21st-century management. I also teach coaching, facilitation and change management art to Agile coaches and Scrum Masters
Fun facts: I have dipped my toes in Improv theaters, acted as supporting lead in a full feature Bollywood movie, and climbed the Peruvian Andes, Turkish Taurus, and the Nepalese Himalayas.
Key Certifications
Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) ~ The Coaches Training Institute
Professional Certified Coach (PCC) ~ International Coach Federation
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) ~ Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) ~ Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master (CSM) ~ Scrum Alliance
Certified "Training from BACK of the room" Trainer (TBR Trainer) ~ Sharon Bowman
OpenSpace in Organizations (OLN-1) ~ Open Leadership Network
ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC) ~ International Consortium for Agile
ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF) ~ International Consortium for Agile
Scaled Agile Framework Program Consultant (SAFe SPC 4.6) ~ Scaled Agile Academy
SAFe DevOps Practitioner (SAFe SDP 4) ~ Scaled Agile Academy
Pragmatic Product Marketing Level 3 (PMC-III)~ Pragmatic Marketing
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (CLSSGB) ~ Global Adroit, Member of American Society for Quality
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner ~ Amazon Web Services
Coursework
Agile Enterprise Transformation, Deep Dive Study Group ~ Agile Coaching Institute
Problem Solving Leadership (PSL) ~ Jerry Weinberg & Esther Derby
Intent-Based Leadership (IBL) ~ Turn the Ship Around (Cmd. David Marquet)
Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence ~ Case Western Reserve University (Dr. Richard Boyatzis)
Organization & Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) Fundamentals ~ CRR Global, California
FIRO® Human Elements Coaching ~ The Human Elements
McCarthy Core Protocols for High Performing Teams~ Richard Kasperowski
Learning How to Learn ~ University of California, San Diego
200 hr Yoga Teacher Training ~ Ananda School of Yoga and Meditation, California
300 hr Yoga Teacher Training ~ Rishikesh Yogpeeth, Rishikesh
Hospice Direct Care Volunteer Training ~ Mission Hospice & Home Care, California
Tantra Yoga ~ Source Tantra, Santa Cruz, California
Ayurvedic Massage Practitioner ~ Himalaya Wellness, Rishikesh
Selected Organizations
"Raghu played a key coaching role, supporting our product managers, designers, and developers as we established lean and Agile processes. As we dealt with a lot of change and diversity of individuals, Raghu excelled at bringing people together to openly and honestly discuss how we operate, agree on charters and support each other. I was impressed with his self-awareness and skill on doing this, and recommend Raghu for his Agile coaching skill"
John Brewer, Managing Director, eCommerce & Distribution at Alaska Airlines
"Raghu was an Agile coach in my organization. He has strong emotional intelligence and engages deeply with teams. He always tries to make personal connections and solve problems inside out. He has a great eye for this work."
Matt Greenberg, Sr. Director of Engineering at Credit Karma
"Raghu is the epitome of inspect and adapt. I've seen him walk the talk in both his professional and personal life. Whether you challenge him in his habits, or he challenges you in yours, never have I seen someone so open to change in order to make things better.
And even with his prior successes as a scrum coach, he never looked to impart another team's ideas because they worked before. He knows the dynamics of every team are different and no single formula is the right way. He always helped the team find their own path to excellence while guiding us when we needed a little direction. And with his superb listening and communication style, I always felt that my time and words were respected.
With the motto that he would be successful if he coached himself out of a job, you knew that he wasn't coaching for personal gain. His primary goal is to make a difference and strengthen teams. I'm grateful to have spent the time learning and growing with Raghu, and would wholly recommend him to help empower your team"
Ralph Feltis, Sr. Software Engineer at Alaska Airlines
"Raghu was leading the Agile Training & Coaching programs and I was Director of Mobile Payment Products at Visa.
I consider him one of the Agile “thought leaders.” Raghu coached and mentored my teams when we really needed his guidance. He demonstrated expert level knowledge in Agile and thoughtful leadership skills. He brought in ideas that were new to us, and also managed to influence my teams to buy into those ideas.
He is very personable yet bold and courageous. He confronts truth directly instead of beating around the bush. He is also a collaboration genius. His conflict resolution skills particularly stood out at Visa as he walked into multiple stressful situations and helped people see their common needs."
Abhishek Gulani, Director at Visa Inc.
"I had the pleasure of having Raghu guide our team in improving our agile practices. His process was highly effective in that he observed our dynamics before suggesting areas of improvement. Aside from that, he brought an air of positivity that is greater than I've ever encountered. I had an amazing experience working with him and I would jump at the opportunity to work with him again."
Anthony Lingen, Product Manager at Credit Karma
"Raghu brings deep experience in Agile and LEAN methodologies coupled with his enthusiastic passion for finding a way to improve the work process and help people work together more effectively"
Mike Weber, Sr. System Analyst at Alaska Airlines
"Raghu was our agile coach at Visa. At the time, we were a newly assembled team in need of an agile process to work efficiently in a multi-team/-platform, cross-functional enterprise organization. Raghu provided training as well as best practices from sprints, planning & pre-planning, feature grooming, and release planning.
He exudes optimism and was a huge asset to our teams. It's a pleasure to work with Raghu"
Pei-Ning Wang, Technical Product Manager at Visa Inc.
The Gossip...
"Raghu helps to build highly-performing agile teams through his infectious positivity and emphasis on fun"
Stephen Snyder, Business Analyst at CapitalOne
"I had the pleasure of having Raghu guide some of the SCRUM teams in my program through Agile maturity. Raghu was quite effective in getting the results and making the teams be self-managed and productive.
To quote the top 3 attributes that contributed to his success are:
His positive, personable and dynamic personality,
His ability to establish a rapport, observe, listen and gain a keen understanding of the problems before jumping into solutions,
and finally his ability to gain buy-in by getting people understand the reasoning before recommending the changes (why before what). His approach showed maturity and his skills in working with people.
Raghu will be an excellent asset for any team going through Agile transformation, and I would recommend him with no reservations"
Guharaman (Guha) Janakiraman, Sr. Director at Visa Inc.
"Raghu was a great Agile coach for ShareBuilder. He brought new ideas and Agile approaches to the team while still allowing the team to form their own direction.
Raghu showed an excellent grasp of when to form tactical, get the job done approaches and when to allow the team to explore greenfield exercises.
It was a pleasure working with you Raghu."
Tony Wilson, Sr. Manager, Software Engineering at CapitalOne ShareBuilder
"As an Agile coach, Raghu is extremely charismatic, knowledgeable and energizing. He is a true joy to work with and one of the rare individuals gifted with extremely high EQ. He is full of optimism and energy even when working under pressure.
Raghu is intelligent, well-read and passionate about Agile. Traits that gave him invaluable wisdom and insights into the spirit behind Agile practices. His unorthodox coaching style, cheerful demeanor, and experience gave his teams an evident edge in becoming highly motivated and effective.
I personally endorse Raghu and believe he can help any company looking to start a successful Agile transformation."
Alwyn Aswin, Sr. Software Developer at Alaska Airlines
"I worked with Raghu for close to a year and found him to be an amazing scrum coach. He is one of few individuals who genuinely worked towards improving the team's performance, ultimately improving our ability to deliver products that add to customer and business value.
He is a passionate proponent of Lean/Agile principles, and we valued his thinking, his focus on continuous improvement, him encouraging the team to take ownership, and for supporting principles of deep democracy"
Anand Muralidhar, Sr. Manager, Product Management at CapitalOne
"I worked with Raghu at Visa, I found Raghu to be a great coach, with a real passion for Agile Coaching.
He led the Agile Implementation with a passion and commitment to the teams and to the advancement of Agile. He applied his experience to his coaching, teaching, and day to date experience with employees and teams. He facilitated release planning. He took the time to sit with Scrum Masters & teams when they experienced challenges and was able to help the team understand their challenges and encourage them to find ways to work through those challenges as a team. He listens and encourages Agile team members to help them progress & to understand, identify, and overcome impediments.
Raghu is creative when finding ways to motivate people to continue their learning.
I would recommend Raghu to any employer looking for a hardworking, motivated, and enthusiastic Agile Coach, with a passion for motivating and helping evangelize Agile and Agile Teams"
Mujeeb Mohammed, Director of Technical Implementations at Visa Inc.
"Raghu is an amazing person to work with. His enthusiasm in the workplace is unparalleled and greatly contributes to keeping his team motivated.
Raghu not only has a wide knowledge of Agile processes and everything Agile related, but he genuinely loves his subject matter and tries to share this passion with his co-workers through his coaching and his numerous anecdotes.
Raghu was an amazing asset and an amazing co-worker at ShareBuilder, and I am really happy to say he has even become a friend. Three words: Very Highly Recommended.."
Sylvain Slaton, Application Developer at Capital One ShareBuilder