The Indian startup ecosystem has produced excellent IT talent for many years. From developing consumer apps to developing robust B2B commercial software products employing cutting-edge technology, Indian technologists have consistently provided additional comfort to users. While India has the world’s largest reservoir of technical talent, their work can now be seen all over the world, with nearly all of the major US technology corporations employing technology pioneers of Indian heritage. A chief technology officer (CTO) is the highest technology executive position within a company and leads the technology or engineering department. They develop policies and procedures and use technology to enhance products and services that focus on external customers.
Here is a list of CTO’s who have created an impact in their field.
01. Shyam Mardikar
Company – Reliance Industries
Shyam Prabhakar Mardikar is The Group Chief Technology Officer – Mobility at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (India), an Indian multinational telecommunications services company, headquartered in [ Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra], India, it operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles. Jio does not offer 2G or 3G service, and instead uses voice over LTE to provide voice service on its network.
02. K Ananth Krishnan
Company – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Around 25 years of experience in Information Technology and capital market (DP, Custody, Equities and Derivatives markets, Portfolio Management System, Mutual Fund, core and retail Banking, Credit Cards/Channels etc). Technology professional with the proven ability to deliver impetus to business and operations via efficient deployment of Information Technology. His specialties are People Management, Technology alignment with Business Plan, Capital Market, Preparation and Implementation of Policies and Procedures, Information Security, Vendor Management, Technical Architecture, Project Management.
03. Rafee Tarafdar
Company – Infosys
Rafee is a VP and Unit Technology Officer (CTO) within Global Delivery organization at Infosys. In this role, he leads the Enterprise Architecture practice across industry segments, driving enterprise architecture and technology solutions for large and complex transformation programs cutting across Custom Application Development, BI & Data Analytics, Cloud & infrastructure and Enterprise Packages & Platforms. Additionally he also provides technology leadership to the Legacy Modernization solution across the organization and mentors, guides architects within the global delivery organization. Rafee has played diverse roles from setting up successful architecture & technology teams globally, providing advisory services to senior executives of fortune 500 organizations and playing the role of CTO & Enterprise architect for large transformation programs. Prior to Infosys he used to architect, design and develop products and platforms for Virtusa, Misys and Cadem
04. Sudipta Bhattacharya
Company – Adani Group
Sudipta Bhattacharya is the CEO for the Adani Group – North America. He is also the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Group. Prior to his current roles he has also held the positions of CEO Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ) and Chief Strategy Officer for the Group. Before joining the Adani Group he was the CEO of the Invensys’ Safety and Control and Software business. Prior to Invensys he was the Senior Vice President for SAP’s Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing and Engineering product portfolio. He has also worked for 10 years for the Tata Group in India managing chemical plant operations, engineering projects and supply chain operations.
05. Prem Thudia
Company – Nestlé India Limited
Prem Thudia Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer – Persona, a Nestlé Health Science company. He had 20 years of experience in the IT industry to help companies achieve success. By taking a founding principle and fully developing it into an automated technology solution, he enable companies to rapidly grow and develop from a sound foundation. For the past 14 years, he had focused on the development of all technologies as the CTO for companies co-founded by Jason Brown, including the most recent personalized nutrition startup, Persona, which was acquired by Nestlé Health Science Company in August 2019. I developed and implemented the Partner web portal for Amadeus Global Travel Network, as well as solving complex issues through my database management experience.
06. Rahul Mulay
Company – Adani Capital
Heading the Information technology department for Adani Capital which is an NBFC and the Adani group’s latest venture into financial services. Adani Capital is in the business of helping Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Farmers, Dealers and Suppliers economic growth by providing customised lending solutions in the areas of Supply Chain finance, Farm equipments, Commercial Vehicles ,Entrepreneur loans. A multi-faceted professional with close to 18 years of experience and consistent achievement in a lead capacity primarily accountable for complete IT project delivery, business application implementations and IT operations. Demonstrated capabilities in conceptualization, design and implementation of Business IT enterprise applications in Retail banking, Private Banking and Retail Broking domain within budget and controlled costs. Expertise in identification and evaluation of IT software solutions. Adept at working in high pressure environments with strict deadlines.
07. Randeep Sekhon
Company – Bharti Airtel
Randeep Singh Sekhon is Chief Technology Officer for Bharti Airtel India and South Asia. He is passionate about transforming the position of Mobile operators from access providers to digital lifestyle providers delivering value to its customers via customer first and digital first strategy. He has a unique mix of business leadership experience and deep technology understanding to drive business success and turnaround. His experiences in technology leadership roles have enabled him to leverage technology and digital first approach for enterprise value generation.
08. Aruna Rao
Company – Kotak Mahindra Bank
Aruna Rao, chief technology officer (CTO), Kotak Mahindra Bank and group companies, believes that the banking sector has multiple technology options to choose from on both the payments and the lending sides. “On the payments side, new technologies such as near field connectivity, QR codes and biometrics are available for devices. Simultaneously, there are a whole set of new payment networks at the backend,” she says. In the lending space, Rao sees a lot of potential in terms of online credit decision-making that helps determine customers’ creditworthiness and arrive at faster and more accurate decisions on loan approvals, etc. However, there are several challenges involved in the adoption of new technologies in the banking sector, she adds. These include reskilling and upgrading workforce capabilities, governance issues given the accelerated rate of release of new technologies, and cybersecurity challenges.
09. Kalyan Kumar
Company – HCL Technologies
Kalyan Kumar (popularly known as “KK”) is the Global CTO & Head – Ecosystems for HCL Technologies. As Global CTO, KK plays a pivotal in defining Product & Technology Strategy, building strategic partner ecosystems, and blueprinting next-gen technology through startup exploration, incubation and open Innovation/open source. As the Head of Ecosystems, KK is responsible for all Cloud Ecosystem Units (AWS/Google/Microsoft/IBM-Redhat/SAP) as well as Tech OEM Ecosystem Units (Dell Tech/VMware/Cisco/Intel). KK also leads the company’s Cloud Offering – #HCLCloudSmart which includes Cloud Strategy, Industry Cloud Consulting, Offering Management and Cloud Native Labs network accelerating the journey to cloud across all the segments of HCL businesses. In his technology exploration avatar, KK heads the Enterprise Technology Office (ETO) driving next-gen technology choices for breakthrough innovation and leapfrog growth. Steering through multiple new tech engagements over the years, KK is quite active within Venture Capital, Growth Equity and Start-up circle across the globe and also is spearheading the HCL Open Source, Open Innovation with Startups and Industry Forums. Over the past two decades, KK has been instrumental in driving HCL’s multiple Practices including Digital Foundation (Hybrid Cloud BU, Digital Workplace BU, Enterprise & Telco Networks), Integrated IT Operations (AI Centric), Autonomics and Unified Service Management (XAAS/SIAM Orchestration), Security & GRC and Cross Functional Services. Right from conceptualizing the Industry’s First BSM SaaS offering with MTaaS in 2008 and to establishing the DRYICE.AI Software Division which pioneered new way to deliver outcome based AIOPS Products & Platforms and has been involved in various new initiatives and incubation over the past decade.
10. RAJESH CHAVAN
Company – Avenue Ecommerce Limited – DMart
As a Chief Technology Officer– Rajesh is accountable for all the technology directions, Engineering and Deployment of Business initiatives of Avenue Ecommerce Limited – DMart. Rajesh directly owns all the aspects like strategic roadmap, team ramp-ups, vendor, alliance and partner management, Solution Designs, Architecture, Engineering and Quality Assurance of below focus areas. Digital Channels – Revamp of the Mobile Apps and responsive Retail Commerce Experience, decoupled with power of IBM WCS Commerce Engine. Enterprise Platform – Development and rollouts of Retail Enterprise Platform for enabling Warehouse Operations and Last Mile Delivery. Infrastructure – All the physical architecture and infrastructure for running Digital and Enterprise platforms in-house. SAP – Development and enhancements of SAP, connecting to Digital channels and DMarReady pick-up points and smaller store formats.
11. Anurag Jain
Company – Bajaj Finserv
Anurag Jain is the Chief Information & Technology Officer of Bajaj Finserv. He have 25 years of experience in managing Business/Function Unit with P&L ownership. He have experienced in managing Technology and Analytics functions including System Software, Assets & Servers, Data & Cyber security, Network infrastructure, End User Services, BCP & DR models, Technology Innovation, Advance Analytics, Business Intelligence and Regulatory Compliance and Expert in defining IT Strategy and Policies, setting Unit Operations and Delivery Excellence processes. Member of board executive committees for IT Strategy, Risk and Audit Governance. Successfully handled several multi-million dollar deals across the globe with large team size and complex solutions involving cross functional teams, vendors and third parties for complete System Integrated Solution Management. He is the winner of prestigious Bajaj Finserv Group Leadership Award, CIO100 Honoree 2020 (IDG), CIO Power List 2020 (Core Media), BFSI Digital Innovation Award (Express Computers/Indian Express), Super Hero of the Moment (BHFL) and many more.
12. Madhukar Srivastava
Company – Larsen & Toubro
Madhukar Srivastava is the Chief Technology Officer of Larsen & Toubro of Smart World & Communication business and responsible for providing Technical leadership in all aspects of business and positioning the company’s strategy for technology, solutions & services integrations while further implementing new technologies that yield competitive advantage. He ia an technically proficient Telecom & ICT professional and business-savvy management leader with over 36 years of experience and exposure with State Government, Central Government, Defence, and public sectors. Proven ability in achieving strategic objectives, while formulating and implementing advanced technology and business solutions to meet a wide range of business needs. He have experience in handling P&L, strategic business development, ICT, and IT domains.
13. Raman C V
Company – Maruti Suzuki
Raman C V is the Chief Technology Officer of Maruti Suzuki. He is the Product design & product development in passenger car industry. Headed various product development teams. Project management from concept to SOP. Experience in vendor development & supply chain management including supplier upgradation through joint venture & technical collaborations. His specialties are Product design & development. Vendor development & supply chain management.
14. Sudhakar Marur
Company – Tata Steel
Sudhakar Marur is the Chief Technology Officer of Tata Steel. He is the Carbon Fiber & products development in the industry. Headed various composite materials & applications for the development of the team. His specialties are Computational Mechanics & Geometry.
15. Ravi Pichan
Company – HDFC Life
Ravi Pichan is the Chief Technology Officer of HDFC Life. He is a positive, results-driven, high energy global Business and Technology Executive with 27 years of experience in Financial Services. Extensive experience in delivering transformation programs with a hands on approach to drive strategy, architecture, implementation of innovative & cost effective solutions. This has resulted in value creation for organizations in a highly regulated, competitive & changing global landscape. He is a leader with experience in managing budgets for large portfolios with an eye for detail who leverages technology to fuel business growth. An extensive global experience working for Tier 1 Banks in US, UK, Asia and their captives in India. He had an experience in leading and inspiring teams of over 1500 professionals that includes setting up & scaling capability at delivery centres across geographies covering people, processes and competency building and also experience in working and delivering programs (Fixed price and T & M) in an agile environment working with several hundred professionals across multiple geographies and varying competencies.
16. Sandeep Deb
Company – Larsen & Toubro Infotech
Sandeep Deb is the Chief Technology Officer of Larsen & Toubro Infotech. He is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience spanning across Banking & Financial Services, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Education sectors across multiple geographies and with a reputation for achieving business growth objectives through technology-driven strategy and execution. He had an innovative strategist with deep experience in building and managing niche technology groups, long-term client relationships, and highly motivated teams. Passionately grooms and nurtures teams to be creative, innovative, and bring about unique value propositions for customers. He did his graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering, avid reader, loves teaching, carpentry, electronics, metalworking and applying technology, in general, to change the world around him.
17. Dr. Aspi N. Patel
Company – Aditya Birla Chemicals
Aspi N. Patel is the Chief Technology Officer of Aditya Birla Group. He is an accomplished and proven leader with more than 30 years experience stewarding technical, manufacturing and marketing functions in global flooring markets, auto, construction materials, building products, filtration and packaging industries. With demonstrated ability to lead and mentor cross-functional teams with responsibility for research, development and commercialization of new products and processes, manufacturing and sales. Established track record working with multiple stake holders. He is also proficient in identifying key technology acquisitions, scientific opportunities and competitive threats to the technology base of the business.
18. P.K. Banerjee
Company – Hindalco Industries Limited
P K Banerjee is President & CTO Hindalco Industries Limited he worked as a Chief Researcher in Tata Steel Ltd till 2014. He Completed his Ph.D, Chemical EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Bachelor’s Degree from Indian Institute of Technology.
19. Mohit Kapoor
Company – Mahindra Group
Mohit Kapoor is the Chief Technology Officer of Mahindra Group. He is the business technology leader with 30 years of experience across industries, with the last 20 years focused on innovation, digital technology, process & product quality, company culture and customer experience. Currently leading Digital transformation at the Mahindra Group. An electronics engineer with advanced management & professional degrees from Cornell University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Key strengths include global technology & operations, global delivery & workforce strategy, application development management, risk management, enterprise CIO, CISO, CTO functions & data/analytics.
20. GUNJAN PATIDAR
Company – Zomato
GUNJAN PATIDAR is the Chief Technology Officer of Zomato. He started as an intern at the company, and went on to build the foodtech unicorn’s core tech systems. Gunjan handled the tech and websites for an entrepreneurship development cell run by IIT-Delhi student bodies. It was during this time, around 2007, that they did a business plan competition where Bain & Co was a sponsor. Zomato CTO Gunjan Patidar makes it a point to code every day. The most important thing for any techie is to be in touch with the times and understand what is happening around you. Find time to understand the business, product, what users want, and how they are impacted is his belief.