As organisations are expanding their businesses, they are increasingly looking towards digital transformation for achieving the business goals. To streamline digitalisation in any company, a CIO or CTO role is very crucial and IT leadership roles are continuing to be among the most sought after.And it’s not surprising that there are multiple opportunities and demand for this position in organisations across verticals.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, small businesses and startups too are ramping up their digitisation efforts which has created renewed demand for CTOs.
ETCIO keeps a close watch on top CIO movements — promotions, exits and new appointments. We bring to you the top CIO movements that took place in the JFM quarter.
March
Wipro appoints new CTO
Wipro has appointed former Walmart and Paypal executive Subha Tatavarti as CTO. The US-based IT industry veteran has joined Wipro from Walmart and before that worked with PayPal for more than 10 years.
She was senior director of technology commercialization at Walmart and last served as Head of product, data platform and infrastructure at PayPal.
Vistara appoints new CIO
Vistara appointed Vinod Bhat as its new Chief Information Officer. He will be responsible for enabling advancements in the airline’s IT infrastructure and driving innovations.
Bhat joins Vistara after a three-decade-long stint with IT services giant Tata Consultancy Services, where he was the Global Business Head – Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG): UK, Ireland & Europe & Delivery Center Head.
He has joined in place of Ravinder Pal Singh, who left the company in January this year.
Mani Mulki, Tata Capital CIO joins Kedaara Capital
Mani Mulki has moved on from Tata Capital where he led the IT function as CIO. Mumbai-based Mulki has joined Kedaara Capital as Operating Director – Technology.
In this new role, Mulki will be responsible for managing the technology roadmap and implementing new-age IT across the organisation and associated portfolio.
Ashish Shrivastava, Punjab State Government CTO moves on
Ashish Shrivastava has been appointed as the new Head of Technology at FSS (Financial Software and Systems)
Prior to joining FSS, Shrivastava has been associated with the Punjab State Government as Chief Technology Officer where he was responsible for the implementation of various digital initiatives, e-governance programs, etc.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance appoints new Deputy Vice President and Head of Technology- Infrastructure
Bharti AXA Life Insurance has appointed Amit Singh as Deputy Vice President and Head of Technology- Infrastructure. He comes from Bajaj Housing Finance where his last served role was National Manager- Information Technology Infrastructure.
Singh was previously associated with Vodafone as Manager- Application Architecture, operations & Infrastructure support and have worked with IBM india as Tech lead.
Annapurna Vishwanathan joins Cummins India as Chief Information Officer
Bangalore-based Annapurna Vishwanathan has moved on from Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages (HCCB) where she has served a stint of over two years as Head-Digital. According to sources, She has now joined Cummins India as CIO.
In the new role, Vishwanathan will be responsible for IT and technologies which are supporting the business operations and other important functions.
She has over 15 years of experience in managing technology, software development, and digital transformation. Prior to joining Cummins India, she was heading the digital function as HCCB India.
Dabur’s Head IT Tarun Anand moves on to join Modicare
Noida-based Tarun Anand has moved on from Dabur India where he had been leading IT and Digital transformation as Head-Global IT. According to sources, Anand has joined Modicare as CIO.
Prior to joining Modicare, he has served a stint of over 4 years at Dabur India as Head-Global IT. At Dabur, he has worked on various IT projects and also focused on partnering with leadership teams to identify digital transformation opportunities. He has also developed and centrally administered a portfolio of heterogeneous digital initiatives.
February
AU Small Finance Bank Appoints new CTO
AU Small Finance Bank has appointed Sharad Goklani as President & CTO. He will be based out of Jaipur and will report to the company’s CIO, Ankur Tripathi.
In his new role, Goklani would be responsible for ensuring technology deployment and adoption across the bank.
“Moreover, given the diverse personas of our customer base, as a CTO of a tech-first Bank, Mr. Goklani would be responsible for creating technology interfaces, which are adaptable are flexible enabling tailor-made services for our unique set of customers,” the company told ETCIO.
John Cherian joins Continental Group International as CTO
Dubai-based John Cherian has joined Continental Group International as Chief Technology Officer. The group is in the insurance and financial services sector, headquartered in UAE.
As the new CTO of the organisation, Cherian will be responsible to enhance customer experience with new technologies. He will be focused on adding value to the digital transformation journey which the company has embarked on for 2 decades.
Adani Power appoints new CIO
Adani Power has appointed Nitin Rohilla as Chief Information Officer. He will be based out of Ahmedabad and report to the company’s MD, Anil Sardana.
In the new role, he will be responsible for spearheading the company’s digital transformation and IT initiatives for business growth.
Previously Rohilla was Vice President-IT at Adani Electricity. He has close to 30 years of professional experience and has worked with companies like Tata Power, Cairn Energy, and BSES Delhi.
Bandhan Bank appoints Arvind Singla as Head – Operations & Technology
Bandhan Bank has appointed Arvind Singla as Executive President and Head – Operations & Technology. The Bank has been strengthening its leadership team over the past year and Arvind is the latest addition to the executive suite. He joins Bandhan Bank from Citibank, where he was Director & Head – Consumer Operations.
At Bandhan Bank, he will be based out of the Bank’s headquarters in Kolkata and will report to Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
January
Anil Menon joins LuLu Group India as Head-IT
Mumbai-based Starbucks GM-IT Anil Menon has joined LuLu Group India as the Head-IT. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, LuLu Group is an Indian-owned multinational conglomerate that operates in the retail business.
In the new role, he is responsible for driving the phygital (Digital + Physical) vision of the conglomerate in India. Managing basic IT functions, IT strategy, technology growth enablers are other key areas under my leadership.
Kunal Mehta joins Fabindia as Group CTO
Kunal Mehta, Head of Information Technology, Raymond Limited has joined Fabindia as Group Chief Technology Officer.
As CTO, he will be responsible for defining the IT strategy roadmap for the group and driving IT transformation through business.
Mehta spent over four years at Raymond before taking up the new role at Fabindia. He has over 20 years of professional experience and has worked with companies like Trent Hypermart, Reliance Retail, and Johnson & Johnson.
Harmeen Mehta joins BT as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer
Harmeen Mehta moved on from Airtel and joined British Telecom. The telecom company announced the creation of a new technology unit – Digital – to lead its digital innovation agenda and Mehta will be leading the unit.
The new unit will focus on the development and rapid delivery of innovative products, platforms and services in key areas such as healthcare and data.
Mehta began her stint by joining as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, reporting directly to Chief Executive Philip Jansen and as a member of the Executive Committee.
The new Digital unit will include accountability for IT, digital innovation, BT-wide business transformation and data and product strategy.
