Spotlight: CXO movements this week (Jan 20 - Jan 26) 

The week (January 20-26) was buzzing with CXO movements in the tech industry with some of the major appointments in key business positions. Technology firms like Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, Commvault, UiPath and Cohesity among others made important appointments in India. Non-tech firms like Adani Group and Dabur India also made important tech appointments. Besides, movements also happened in startups like Xoriant. Here’s the roundup:

Former TCS exec Rajashree R joins Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra announced on January 22 that it has appointed Rajashree R, former chief marketing officer of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as its chief growth officer for America strategic verticals. Rajashree will be joining the ongoing leadership restructuring led by Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi. With over three decades of rich experience, Rajashree will utilize her expertise to foster strategic alliances and provide domain and technological thought leadership. Rajashree is a TCS veteran with almost 20 years of experience at the company, where she held various leadership positions. In 2023, she stepped down from the CMO role and continued working as a vice president at TCS as part of CEO K Krithivasan's organizational restructuring plan. “My focus now will be on growing the Americas, which is a strategic market for Tech Mahindra," Rajashree said in a LinkedIn post. (Read more)

Commvault appoints Darren Thomson as field CTO for EMEA and India

Commvault, a US-based provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for hybrid cloud organizations, on Monday, appointed Darren Thomson as the new Field Chief Technology Officer for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and India. With over 30 years of experience in the technology industry, Thomson brings extensive technical expertise, leadership skills, and business acumen to his new role. He has successfully managed global teams and projects in high-growth environments throughout his career. Prior to joining Commvault, Thomson held a key position in the product marketing organization at One Identity, an identity and access management company. He also played a significant role in shaping the cyber insurance industry during his tenure at CyberCube and Lloyds of London. Thomson also led Symantec's CTO Office in the EMEA region consisting of 200 technicians and held senior executive roles at Veritas. (Read more)

Cognizant country head takes on additional charge of APJ head for large deals

Cognizant has awarded Achal Kataria the additional responsibility of head of large deals (Asia-Pacific Japan region), in addition to the existing role of vice president and India country head. Kataria assumed the role starting this month, as per his latest update on professional networking platform LinkedIn. Kataria was appointed the country head in September 2021, replacing Anantharaman Sreenivasan who served in the post for four years before stepping down in August of that year. Further, Kataria has three decades of experience, having worked in companies such as EXL, Tech Mahindra, and Genpact. (Read more)

Cohesity appoints Peter Hanna as head of channels for APJ

Data management and security firm Cohesity has appointed Peter Hanna as the head of channels for Asia-Pacific & Japan (APJ) region. Hanna will be based in Australia and lead the company’s channel sales and partner engagement with focus on Cohesity’s AI-powered solutions. Hanna has over two decades of experience, working with leading information and communication technology (ICT) companies such as VMware and Dell EMC. Hanna has strong expertise in developing and optimising go-to-market strategies throughout the Asia Pacific, Japan, India, and Greater China region, the company statement said. His last held role was in the head of global customers (APJ and Greater China) where he worked with VMware’s customers on technology-led business transformation and reduce cyber risk. (Read more)

Infogain appoints Dinesh Venugopal as its new CEO

Software engineering services provider, Infogain, has appointed Dinesh Venugopal as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective February 8, 2024. Venugopal is set to succeed Ayan Mukerji, who initially joined Infogain as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and later assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2021. Bringing nearly three decades of management experience to the table, Venugopal is well-versed in digital transformation, experience engineering, and handling substantial business deals. His primary focus will be to contribute to Infogain's growth strategy in his new leadership role. Prior to joining Infogain, Venugopal served as the CEO of PK, a company specializing in experience engineering. Following PK's acquisition by Concentrix, he assumed the role of President at Concentrix Catalyst. Notably, Venugopal spent over a decade at Mphasis, holding various roles, including President of Direct & Digital. (Read more)

UiPath appoints Pradeep Kumar as its new SVP of Services, Customer Success

UiPath, an enterprise automation software company, has announced the appointment of Pradeep Kumar as its new Senior Vice President of Services and Customer Success. In his role, Kumar will work closely with customers globally, aiming to help them attain significant business outcomes, enhance their competitive advantage, and establish operational excellence in automation on a large scale. Prior to joining UiPath, Kumar held the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager, of HPE Services at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, where he led the HPE services business, helping companies accelerate their digital transformation. Before that, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Shared Delivery at HPE, overseeing the delivery of solutions and services to HPE customers worldwide. (Read more)

Shivkumar Pandey joins Adani Group as Group CISO

Adani Group has appointed Shivkumar Pandey as its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Pandey has over 23 years of experience across diverse industries and will be leading the cybersecurity function within the Adani Group. In his role, Pandey will spearhead strategic cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring the robust security of both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) systems. Prior to joining Adani, Pandey served as the Group CISO at BSE Ltd. leading its cyber security operations center. Pandey’s professional background includes roles in cybersecurity and IT service delivery within dynamic industries such as BFSI, ITeS and telecommunications. He has been associated with organisations like the National Payment Corporation of India, Reliance Jio, Future Generali India, Kotak Mahindra, and Tata AIG.

Ashish Khanna promoted to Global CISO and Head-IT at Evalueserve

Ashish Khanna has promoted to Global CISO and Head-IT at Evalueserve. Before this, he was CISO at the same company. Khanna brings with him over 20 years of experience in IT operations, IT strategy. Earlier, he was associated with The Oberoi Group, Taj Group and Mahindra & Mahindra. According to his LinkedIn bio, Khanna has expertise in devising strategies aimed at enhancing overall organizational growth, sustained profitability of operations, and improved business performance.

Ashish Pandey starts a new position as Global CIO at Dabur

Ashish Pandey has recently assumed the position of Global CIO at Dabur. Prior to this role, he served as the Digital & Tech Head for the India Sub Continent, as well as the CIO and CDTO at GSK Consumer Healthcare India. He has also worked at Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. and IBM. With almost twenty years of experience in India, the US, and Europe, Pandey has held significant positions in well-known Fortune companies. Pandey has expertise in various functional areas such as sales and distribution, supply chain management, marketing, e-commerce, and innovation. His industry exposure includes consumer healthcare, FMCG, manufacturing, travel, logistics, pharma, and retail.

Mukund Rao joins Xoriant as president, global markets

Mukund Rao, brings in more than two decades of experience in the BFSI and management sectors. At Xoriant, he drives the go-to-market strategy and consults with and advises clients, helping align their needs with Xoriant’s capabilities to ensure joint success. Prior to Xoriant, Rao led the BFSI BU as Chief Business Officer at LTIMindtree and Mindtree prior to its merger, scaling and enhancing its positioning with clients and in the market globally. Rao was with Cognizant prior to that, where he held leadership positions as part of Cognizant’s largest Banking Financial Services practice. He was with Mphasis before that, where he led core accounts and was an early member of the consulting team.