Spotlight: CXO movement this week (July 20-26)

During the week of July 20-26, there were significant changes in leadership positions within the technology industry. Major companies such as Google, Intel, Commvault, NXTDigital and Atos made important announcements regarding key business positions. Movements also happened in companies like ServiceNow. Here's the roundup:

Intel names ex-Micron VP as global chief operations head

Intel Corporation has appointed Dr. Naga Chandrasekaran as chief global operations officer and general manager of the Intel Foundry Manufacturing and Supply Chain organization. He joins Intel from Micron, where he was senior vice president for Technology Development. Dr. Chandrasekaran will report to CEO Pat Gelsinger and replace Keyvan Esfarjani, who is retiring after nearly 30 years at Intel but will assist with the transition until year-end. Chandrasekaran will start on August 12, overseeing global manufacturing operations, including Fab Sort Manufacturing, Assembly Test Manufacturing, and supply chain management. With over 20 years at Micron, he has held various senior roles, Most recently, he led Micron’s global technology development and engineering efforts related to the scaling of current memory technologies, advanced packaging technology and emerging technology solutions.. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Madras and both a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. Additionally, he has a master’s degree in information and data science from the University of California, Berkeley, and dual executive MBAs from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Pranay Ahlawat joins Commvault as its first Chief Technology and AI Officer

Commvault has appointed Pranay Ahlawat as its first Chief Technology and AI Officer. In this new role, Ahlawat will report to Rajiv Kottomtharayil, Commvault’s Chief Product Officer and oversee the company's product vision and development, focusing on advancing cyber resilience with modern artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Ahlawat brings extensive experience in AI, cloud and infrastructure software, business strategy, product development, and operations. Before joining Commvault, he held leadership roles at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), advising software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies on cloud and infrastructure development. Ahlawat holds a bachelor’s degree from Delhi College of Engineering, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from the Wharton School. (Read more)

Atos appoints Chairman Jean Pierre Mustier as CEO

French technology company Atos on Wednesday appointed its chairman Jean Pierre Mustier as CEO to replace departing boss Paul Saleh in its fifth top management reshuffle in less than two years. Atos is undergoing a financial restructuring in a bid to deal with debt and get its business back on track. Mustier, a former CEO of Italian bank UniCredit, takes over from Saleh, who became CEO in January from CFO position, immediately after Yves Bernaert departed. The appointment of Mustier comes as the Nanterre Commercial Court opened a procedure to implement Atos' financial restructuring plan. A hearing for the court to approve an accelerated safeguard plan is scheduled for October 15, Atos said.

Google India country head Sanjay Gupta elevated as APAC president

Sanjay Gupta, the current country manager of Google India, has been promoted to the position of president for the Asia Pacific region. This significant advancement highlights the importance of this region for the tech giant. Gupta will be succeeding Scott Beaumont, the current Asia Pacific president, who will be retiring at the end of this year after a tenure of almost 16 years. Gupta will be relocating to Singapore in the upcoming months, while Google will commence the search for a new head for India shortly. Gupta announced these changes on LinkedIn. Gupta initially joined Google in January 2020 as the country manager for India and also holds the position of Vice President of Sales. With over 30 years of industry experience, Gupta has previously worked with organizations such as Star India, Bharti Airtel, and Hindustan Unilever.

NXTDIGITAL names Jaydeep Sampat as CTO

NXTDIGITAL, the digital media division of Hinduja Global Solutions, has named Jaydeep Sampat as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Sampat brings over 30 years of experience in the communications industry to his new role. At NXTDIGITAL Media Group, he will oversee technology functions across broadband, digital television, and enterprise solutions. He is responsible for using new technologies to develop and improve products and will work with the group's broadband and television franchisee network in India to create market-driven products. Earlier, he served as the CTO at Tikona Infinet for over a decade. There, he established multi-site operations, managed nationwide IT infrastructure, and led teams to deliver customised solutions for retail and enterprise customers. He has also been part of core technology teams at Sify, Hughes Tele.com, and Rolta. (Read more)

ServiceNow global executive quits over internal hiring policy violation

ServiceNow announced the resignation of its president and chief operating officer, Chirantan CJ Desai, following an internal investigation that revealed violations of company policy in the hiring of the US Army’s CIO approximately a year ago. Raj Iyer, the former US Army civilian chief information officer who joined ServiceNow as senior vice president of the global public sector on March 13, 2023, has also departed from the company. The news coincided with the release of ServiceNow's financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2024, ending June 30, showing a total revenue of $2.63 billion, a 22 per cent increase from the previous year. The ongoing investigation led the board to conclude that company policy was breached in the hiring process of the former Army CIO, resulting in their departure from the company. Desai, who became president and COO in early 2023 after joining the company in late 2016, had a significant impact on the launch of ServiceNow’s Now Platform Vancouver release and the introduction of the GenAI products.

Sify Technologies names new CEO for digital services arm

Midsized IT firm Sify Technologies has named C R Srinivasan as the CEO of Sify Digital Services, the digital services arm of the tech firm. With over three decades of experience in global telecom, IT, cybersecurity, and digital services, Srinivasan has a strong track record in various types of businesses. Before joining Sify, he led Tata Communications' Cloud and Cybersecurity divisions and co-founded Sevenstrata IT Services. Additionally, he played a key role in establishing Sify's network services. In his new position, Srinivasan will oversee the growth of the business in India and beyond, with a focus on maximizing Sify's digital services growth potential and strengthening its position in the market.