Sivabalan Karuppannan
About Sivabalan Karuppannan
Sivabalan Karuppannan is the Head of Agile Coaching at iprice group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with extensive experience in agile methodologies and project management.
Head Of Agile Coaching at iPrice Group
Sivabalan Karuppannan currently holds the position of Head of Agile Coaching at iPrice Group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In this role, he leads a team of four agile coaches, providing support and training to over 23 teams within the organization. His responsibilities include defining the agile transformation strategy for more than 200 associates and mentoring over 50 line managers, team leads, teams, and agile coaches. Reporting directly to the CEO, Sivabalan oversees process efficiency and partners with People Ops on initiatives such as Pulse Surveys, Remote Work Policies, Stay Interviews, and Effective Meetings.
Previous Roles and Experience
Before joining iPrice Group, Sivabalan Karuppannan was employed at Cheetah Digital as a Senior Scrum Master & Agile Coach from 2011 to 2019 in Cyberjaya. His earlier professional experience includes six years as a Project Manager at Mahindra Satyam (acquired from Motorola Multimedia) from 2005 to 2011. Sivabalan also worked as a Software Engineer at Sony Electronics for five years from 2000 to 2005. Across these roles, he has built a robust background in agile methodologies, project management, and software engineering.
Educational Background
Sivabalan Karuppannan's educational journey includes a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Administration and Management from Lincoln University College, completed from 2018 to 2019. He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng) degree in Electrical & Electronics from Universiti Sains Malaysia, completed from 1996 to 1999. Prior to his university education, Sivabalan attended Sekolah Menengah Sulaiman in Bentong, where he studied Science and achieved STPM from 1994 to 1995.
Agile Coaching and Team Leadership
In his role at iPrice Group, Sivabalan Karuppannan serves as a Servant Leader to two Scrum Teams and supports up to three Kanban Teams within a Value Stream. He is heavily involved in coaching teams on effective facilitation and self-organization of key agile ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Refinement, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives. Furthermore, Sivabalan assists in the coordination of Value Stream level meetings to identify dependencies and proactively addresses risks, dependencies, and potential issues.
Training and Skill Development
Sivabalan Karuppannan is committed to the continuous skill development of his teams and organization. He conducts four training sessions monthly on various topics, such as Agile 101, Effective Scrum Ceremonies, Effective Agile Teams, Teamwork, Online Meeting Etiquette, Sprint Goals, Agile Metrics, and iPrice Business operations. These sessions are designed to enhance the team's knowledge and practices in agile methodologies and to improve overall team efficiency and collaboration.