Spotlight: CIO/CTO Movement this Quarter (January to March’24)

The January to March’24 quarter saw several CXO movements in the tech industry with some major appointments in key business positions. Notably, the quarter was buzzing with appointments of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs) from both IT and non-IT sectors, including banking and finance, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and logistics, among others. Here’s a roundup of the CIO/CTO appointments during the period.

American software company Sprinklr has appointed Amitabh Misra as its CTO, in March, which is effective April 1. In this role, Misra will lead research and development teams, including product and engineering. Misra has over 25 years of experience in building large-scale platforms and will report to founder and CEO Ragy Thomas. Misra was previously the founder and CEO of GOFro.com and held positions at Snapdeal.com. His most recent role was Vice President of Engineering at Adobe, where he led a global R&D organization for Adobe’s Experience Cloud Platform. Misra is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley and IIT Kanpur. (Read more)

Lupin, an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai, announced the appointment of Christoph Funke as the chief technical operations officer in March. Funke has 30 years of global pharmaceutical manufacturing, supply chain, and technical operations experience. Funke has held leadership roles at organizations such as Fresenius Kabi and Strides Pharma Science, managing large-scale technical operations and manufacturing networks. His last role was as chief operations officer at Strides Pharma Science Limited. Funke is an alumnus of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences. (Read more)

Hyderabad-headquartered Indian logistics company, Allcargo Gati Limited has named Sanjay Khiyani as its Deputy CIO in March, to optimize the company's technology infrastructure and administration. Khiyani brings over 25 years of experience, including a two-decade stint at IBM. He will oversee software development, delivery, and deployment to improve the overall customer experience. (Read more)

SNITCH, a men's clothing brand, appointed Maruthy Ramgandhi as its new CTO. Ramgandhi holds a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a Master of Science from Alliance Manchester Business School. He brings 18 years of experience working with reputable companies like Stumbl, Amazon, and Mckinsey & Co. (Read more)

Mumbai-based N R Agrawal Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of paper boards and newsprint, named Chitranjan Kesari as its Head of Information Technology. Kesari has extensive experience in infrastructure operations, automation, SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce, MS Dynamics, design, and information security. He aims to foster business growth through digital technologies and automation.

Wealth management company, Julius Baer India appointed technology veteran Abhishek Chandra as their Chief Operating Officer (COO). Chandra brings over 20 years of financial services and technology experience, previously serving as Chief Technology Officer at Kotak Private Banking. He will lead operational strategies and technology excellence at Julius Baer India.

Aether Industries, a manufacturer of speciality chemicals, appointed James W Ringer as its new CTO. Ringer has decades of experience in research and development within the chemical industry. He previously worked at Dow Chemical Company, where he held various technical leadership positions.(Read more)

Technology company Hitachi Vantara appointed Ayman Abouelwafa as its new CTO. Abouelwafa will identify and evaluate emerging technologies aligning with the business strategy. He has nearly 30 years of storage and technology experience, most recently as the CTO in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) storage group. Abouelwafa holds degrees in computer control, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and business administration.

Mumbai-based Waaree Energies Group has appointed Avadhut Parab as the CIO. The group operates in the renewable energy sector with a special focus on solar manufacturing capabilities, offering engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services. Parab, an industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience, expressed excitement about the potential impact of technology and digitization in his new role. Prior to this appointment, he served as the CIO at Parle Agro and has worked with companies like Wockhardt, Atos, and Unichem. Parab holds a doctorate in management research and an MBA.

Mangesh Mahale has joined Ujjivan Small Finance Bank as the CTO. With a background in delivering digital transformation solutions, Mahale will focus on driving IT strategy, enhancing customer experiences, and overseeing IT infrastructure and cloud operations. His previous experience includes roles at organizations like State Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, and National Stock Exchange Clearing Limited. Mahale holds an engineering qualification from V.J.T.I. Mumbai and a Diploma in Electronics & Radio Engineering from Govt. Polytechnic, Aurangabad.

Bipin Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed as the Chief Information Officer at Fortis Healthcare. Previously, he served as Sr. Vice President & Head of Technology at Pramerica Life Insurance and has worked with companies like Cinepolis Corporativo, Allianz Partners, and Radiocity 91.1. Chaudhary will lead IT initiatives, drive digital transformation, and integrate technology to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. He holds a B.Tech degree, an MBA, and a Certification Course in Management from Harvard Business Publication.

Devinder Singh has joined insurance broker PolicyBazaar as Head of IT Infrastructure and SecOps, bringing his experience in managing security operations and IT infrastructure. Singh's role will focus on expanding PolicyBazaar's digital presence, strengthening cybersecurity measures, and driving innovation in IT operations. Prior to this, he held positions at Sinch India, Amazon, Toyota Financial Services India, ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services, Convergys, and Microland.

Sudhir Sharma has been appointed as the Chief Information Officer at Somany Ceramics Ltd, a manufacturer of home, kitchen and bathroom tiles. With experience in the glass, ceramics, and concrete industry, Sharma will focus on budgeting, business development, customer relationship management, team building, and IT strategy. He previously worked at Signature Global and Hero Steels, graduating from Chinmaya Degree College.

Kalaiselvan P has been appointed as the Chief Technology Officer at FayrEdge, bringing expertise in computer science, engineering, software systems, and global business leadership to the role.

Manish Sehgal has joined cybersecurity firm CloudSEK as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), specializing in enterprise risk management and cyber defense. Sehgal previously held roles at AU Small Finance Bank, Hewlett Packard, and VFS Global Services, focusing on information security and compliance. (Read more)

Anuprita Daga has been appointed as the Group CISO at Angel One Limited, with over 25 years of expertise in security transformation in the banking and finance sector. Daga aims to enhance information security, cyber security, and data privacy frameworks at Angel One to protect customer information and confidential data. (Read more)

Riki Banerjee has been appointed as the Chief Technology Officer at US-based endovascular company Synchron, leading research and development activities for neuroprosthesis devices. Banerjee holds a Ph.D. and Masters of Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.