Former LTIMindtree COO to take charge of newly formed AI services business group

IT services firm LTIMindtree has appointed former chief operating officer (COO) Nachiket Deshpande to lead the newly formed Artificial Intelligence (AI) services business group. Despande was earlier in the running for the CEO post at the company. LTIMindtree eventually appointed Venu Lambu as the CEO designate in January.

In his role as the president of LTIMindtree’s AI services, Deshpande will take charge of strategic deals and partnerships, as announced by CEO Lambu in a March 7 letter. In his letter, he said that a new playbook is needed to win in the new AI economy that has taken shape in the last 18-24 months. LTIMindtree’s AI services business group offers advisory, engineering, and solutions through AI Studio and Agentic AI marketplace.

“Nachiket plays a crucial role in leading strategic initiatives that enable LTIMindtree to expand quickly and effectively into new markets,” a company note said. “Noteworthy acquisitions under his stewardship include Cuelogic, Powerupcloud, Lymbyc, and Syncordis, alongside his significant contributions to the operational integration during the merger of LTI and Mindtree.”

Additionally, Despande will be responsible for aligning the global technology office (GTO research agenda), evaluating emerging tech, and collaborating with academic institutions for research and innovation. Notably, he was the CEO at LTI before its merger with Mindtree. Prior to that, he worked at Cognizant for two decades.

India’s sixth-largest IT firm LTIMindtree announced former president Lambu as the CEO designate and full-time director in January this year. He is set to succeed CEO and MD Debashis Chatterjee, who took over the reins of LTIMindtree in November 2022 after the merger of Larsen & Toubro firms L&T Infotech and Mindtree.

Lambu has been appointed for a five-year term and will be based in London, the company said in a statement. Chatterjee's tenure in his current role is expected to end later in 2025. At present, Lambu will be working closely with him on a smooth transition and gathering insights into the company's current operations, yearly budgets, and strategic plans, the statement added.