Qualcomm appoints Savi Soin as India head, Rajen Vagadia moves to a global role

American chipmaker Qualcomm on Friday announced the appointment of Savi Soin as the new president of Qualcomm India. He succeeds Rajen Vagadia, who will take on a global role. 

Soin will report directly to Jim Cathey, chief commercial officer, Qualcomm Technologies. As President of Qualcomm India, Soin will be in charge of leading and executing Qualcomm’s strategy in the country by fostering relationships with industry partners and the government of India across mobile, automotive, semiconductor, industrial & IoT and communication infrastructure sectors. 

Soin has been with Qualcomm for more than two decades and has been part of Qualcomm’s senior leadership team. During his tenure, he has helped shape the strategic direction for the company in several leadership roles.  

Soin led the Global Strategic Partnerships and Business Incubation team for Qualcomm Technologies, responsible for new businesses and executing strategic relationships, the company added. 

Prior to his current role, Soin was the head of Strategy and Business Development at Qualcomm Technologies’ semiconductor division, where he was responsible for planning and execution of Qualcomm’s strategy.  

Meanwhile, Vagadia, who has been the Qualcomm India President for the last 5 years, will relocate to Qualcomm headquarters in San Diego and transition to a new role as a Vice-President to lead Global Distribution and Global Carrier Strategy. 

Under his leadership, Qualcomm Technologies strengthened its position in India in the wireless technologies space, built important relationships with stakeholders towards the rollout of 4G and 5G in India, and expanded its presence in industry segments like automotive and IoT, the company said in a statement. 

“India is a priority market for Qualcomm, and we remain committed to investing in it. I would like to thank Rajen for his leadership and contribution to driving growth in India by strengthening our presence and accelerating innovation in the country. Savi’s leadership experience, technical knowledge, and ability to work through complex challenges and build strong collaboration across teams, have played a pivotal role in his success at Qualcomm,” Cathey said in a statement. 

In his new role, Soin will continue to drive growth through digital transformation and the development of its domestic technology innovation capabilities. Cathey said, Soin will drive the company’s efforts towards furthering the semiconductor and start-up ecosystem in India. “In addition, he will be focused on accelerating transformation in areas such as 5G, AI, IoT and Automotive, building on our strong engineering presence and brand in the India market,” added Cathey. 

Soin said, “India has an enormous opportunity to drive the global digital transformation with its scale and resources. My objective is to partner with the Indian ecosystem to accelerate this transformation using Qualcomm’s technology innovations across sectors.”  

Meanwhile, Qualcomm reported third-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations, but reduced revenue and guidance for the fourth quarter. The company posted revenues of $8.4 billion, a 23% year-over-year drop and 52% decrease in net income to $1.8 billion, mainly due to an ongoing slump in the smartphone industry.