Q&A with Puneeth Kariyappa

Puneeth is a Telecom Product Manager at Radiall India.

Q. How long have you worked at Radiall? 

2.5 years

Q. Can you tell us more about your role? 

I’m the Global Telecom Product Manager at Radiall, where I manage the company’s outdoor connector portfolio for telecom applications. My role focuses on leading new product development, defining product strategy and pricing, and supporting key customers across global markets. I work closely with teams across R&D, sales and operations to ensure our solutions stay competitive and aligned with market needs.

I also focus on long-term strategic growth and innovation. That includes helping develop next-generation outdoor connectivity solutions—such as hybrid, modular or smart connectors—while identifying market gaps and opportunities for expansion. The goal is to continue strengthening Radiall’s differentiation within telecom infrastructure applications and ensure the product portfolio evolves with the industry.

Q. What is a typical day like for you at Radiall?

A typical day for me involves balancing product strategy, cross-functional coordination and customer engagement across global regions. Because I work with international teams, my mornings often start with reviewing updates from APAC and EMEA, checking in with R&D on technical progress, responding to sales requests for quotes or pricing and following up on new product development projects.

Later in the day, I focus on product strategy and execution—things like competitive benchmarking, roadmap planning, margin analysis and reviewing technical specifications for major telecom projects.

As teams in the Americas come online, my schedule usually shifts to calls with sales teams and customers to discuss technical solutions, align on go-to-market strategies and help resolve any project challenges. Overall, the role is a mix of portfolio management, product development and global collaboration to support growth in the telecom market.

Q. What’s been your proudest achievement in your career?

One of my proudest achievements was helping secure our first order from a telecom system integrator, valued at around €50K, while they were actively bidding on projects with competitors. It was a great milestone because it helped strengthen our position in operator-led telecom projects.

I also led the launch of two product series this year—OCTIS Thermal+ and the Diecast Receptacle—which involved coordinating closely with engineering, industrialization and global sales teams. Bringing those products from concept to market was very rewarding.

Another highlight for me was leading the re-launch of OPUS. It involved rethinking the product’s positioning, doing competitive benchmarking and aligning with sales teams globally. Turning around an existing product and improving its traction in the market was a meaningful achievement and an important step in my career.

Q. Can you share a product you’ve worked on recently and the impact it has had in the telecom market? 

One product I’ve worked on recently is OCTIS Thermal+, which has carved out a strong niche in the telecom infrastructure market by integrating thermal management directly into outdoor connector interfaces. Its impact is especially visible in the field—it makes deployment easier, simplifies thermal design for OEMs and helps improve overall reliability for operators running increasingly dense and complex mobile networks.

Q. What trends in the telecom industry are shaping the products you develop and launch? 

Several trends in the telecom industry are shaping the products we develop. One major driver is 5G densification and the growth of small cells, which requires connectivity solutions that are compact, robust and easy to deploy in outdoor environments.

At the same time, higher power levels and thermal density in modern radios, especially with technologies like Massive MIMO, are creating new thermal management challenges. This is pushing the development of connectors that can handle higher performance while maintaining reliability.

We’re also seeing changes in network architecture, such as fiber moving deeper into networks and the rise of Open RAN, which increases the need for flexible, high-performance connectivity solutions. On top of that, sustainability and energy efficiency are becoming key priorities for operators, along with the need to support multiple bands and technologies within the same infrastructure.