Spotlight: CXO movements this week (March 2-8, 2024)

The week (March 2-8, 2024) was buzzing with several CXO movements in the tech industry with some of the major appointments in key business positions. IT services firms like SAP India and LTIMindtree made important new appointments in key business positions, while non-tech firms like Paper manufacturer N R Agrawal Industries and Swiss private banking group hired new bosses to lead some of their digital affairs. Movements also happened in startups like the game based savings app Fello. Here’s the roundup:

SAP appoints Manish Prasad as new president, India MD

Enterprise software development company SAP has appointed Manish Prasad as the President and Managing Director for Indian subcontinent. Prasad succeeds Kulmeet Bawa, who now assumes a global role for growth and adoption of SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). In his new role, Prasad will spearhead SAP's transition to the cloud, facilitating digital transformation for customers across diverse industries.  Based in Bangalore, Prasad will report directly to Paul Marriott, President of SAP Asia Pacific Japan. A technology veteran and seasoned business leader within SAP, Prasad comes with over two decades of experience particularly in the field of metals, mining, and automotive sectors. He has built and managed businesses on a global and regional scale, covering North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. (Read more)

LTIMindtree names Vipul Chandra as new CFO

IT services company LTIMindtree announced the appointment of Vipul Chandra as the chief financial officer, effective April 25. He takes over the role from Vinit Teredesai who has been serving at the post since June 2020, and exiting company to pursue further professional interests. Chandra is an industry veteran, having spent three decades in Financial Markets, Risk Management, Banking Operations, and Treasury Management. He joined L&T in October 2023 as the head of treasury in Corporate Finance. In this role, Chandra led the company’s efforts in  capital structuring and allocation, resource mobilisation, working capital and financial risk management across the group. Before L&T, he worked as the managing director, head of corporate sales and structuring in Global Markets business at Citibank. Chandra is an alum of Delhi College of Engineering and IIM Calcutta.

N R Agrawal Industries names Chitranjan Kesari as IT head

Paper manufacturer N R Agrawal Industries Ltd. has named Chitranjan Kesari as its Head of Information Technology. In his previous role, Kesari oversaw digital transformation projects at Idemeum India as Head of IT. With more than two decades of extensive experience in the field of information technology, Kesari is knowledgeable about infrastructure operations, automation, SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce, MS Dynamics, design, and information security. His main goals at the new company include fostering business growth through digital technologies and focusing on automation, especially in the area of emerging technologies. He was earlier associated with Hive Carbon Zero Developers, Global Knowledge Work and Entrepreneurship, Kanakia Group, LODHA Group, Omkar Realtors & Developers, JINDAL SAW and Arviva Industries India.  

Tech leader Abhishek Chandra joins Julius Baer India

Swiss private banking group Julius Baer India has appointed Abhishek Chandra as their Chief Operating Officer (COO). In his new role, Chandra will lead operational strategies and activities to support business development and technology excellence throughout the organisation. With over 20 years of experience in the financial services and technology industries, Chandra served as Chief Technology Officer at Kotak Private Banking before joining Julius Baer India. During his stint at Kotak, he played a key role in applying technology to enhance client experiences and streamline workflows. He was earlier associated with IIFL Wealth & Asset Management, Sanctum Wealth Management, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, ABN AMRO Bank and Mastek.

Dynatrace appoints James McCready as VP for APAC

Security and observability platform Dynatrace, announced the appointment of James McCready as the vice president of APAC region. McCready is based in Singapore and will look over the company’s overall growth strategy in the region, and support customers through observability, security, business analytics and automation solutions. An industry veteran, McCready has over two and half decades of experience in sales management and leadership. In his last role, he served as the vice president and managing director at ServiceNow. He drove the company’s regional business strategy for growth and diversification and led the partner strategy with distributors, resellers, and global systems integrators across the region. Before ServiceNow, McCready was Adobe’s APAC president; in his four year tenure, the company grew business by over 200%. He has also worked at EMC Corporation and Dell for over two decades in multiple senior leadership roles. (Read more)

Fello appoints Vamshi Krishna M R as its new head of engineering

Bengaluru-based gamified savings platform Fello has announced the addition of Vamshi Krishna M R as Head of Engineering and Bhargav Prasad as Business Operations Lead to its leadership team. Vamshi, formerly the Principal Engineer at Niyo Solutions, will take on the role of Engineering Lead and Technical Architect at Fello. In his new position, Vamshi will be responsible for designing the company's technological path in line with its strategic goals.  He will oversee planning and execution, ensuring the development of high-quality, scalable systems and contribute to the company's growth, product innovation, and customer satisfaction. (Read more)