New Delhi, Oct. 24 -- The technology industry witnessed a series of key leadership appointments this week (Oct 11-17), with global players such as Microsoft, Google Cloud, Netcore Cloud, New Relic, among others, strengthening their India and Asia-Pacific operations amid rising demand for digital transformation, cloud adoption, cyber security and AI-led innovation. Here's a roundup:
Microsoft names Dahnesh Dilkhush CTO for India & South Asia
The technology industry witnessed a series of key leadership appointments this week (Oct 11-17), with global players such as Microsoft, Google Cloud, among others, strengthening their India and Asia-Pacific operations amid rising demand for digital transformation, cloud adoption, cyber security and AI-led innovation. Here's a roundup:
Microsoft names Dahnesh Dilkhush CTO for India & South Asia
Microsoft has appointed Dahnesh Dilkhush as Chief Technology Officer for India & South Asia, where he will spearhead the company's innovation agenda and help enterprises unlock value from Microsoft's AI and cloud platforms. Based in Mumbai, Dilkhush brings over 26 years of experience in enterprise technology and digital transformation, including two decades at Microsoft across leadership roles in Azure and global partner ecosystems. A champion of tech-led business outcomes, he has been instrumental in aligning innovation with measurable customer impact. His appointment underscores Microsoft's focus on driving AI-led transformation across sectors. Dilkhush's mandate includes accelerating the adoption of Microsoft's AI and cloud stack among Indian and regional enterprises while fostering collaboration across ecosystem partners.
Karthik Narain joins Google Cloud as Chief Product & Business Officer
Google Cloud has appointed Karthik Narain, former Accenture CTO, as its Chief Product & Business Officer (CPO & CBO). Narain will oversee product, engineering, go-to-market, and public sector strategy across Google Cloud, developer, data, and applied AI portfolios. The move consolidates product and commercial leadership, enabling faster integration of customer feedback into engineering cycles. Announcing the appointment, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said Narain's deep enterprise experience will help accelerate clients' transition into the AI era. Narain, who spent over 25 years in tech consulting and engineering, said he looks forward to combining his enterprise systems expertise with Google's foundational AI technologies to drive digital transformation. His appointment signals Google Cloud's intensified focus on converting AI research into real-world enterprise applications and industry-specific solutions.
New Relic appoints Brian Emerson as Chief Product Officer
New Relic, the intelligent observability firm, has named Brian Emerson as Chief Product Officer (CPO) to lead its global product vision and innovation roadmap. Emerson joins from ServiceNow, where he helped scale its IT Operations Management business into a top-performing unit. With over 25 years of experience at ServiceNow, VMware, and BMC Software, Emerson brings deep expertise in observability, cloud, and enterprise software. Reporting to CEO Ashan Willy, he will drive product strategy to help more than 85,000 organisations transition toward AI-first operations. His appointment comes as New Relic enhances its Intelligent Observability Platform with AI-driven analytics and automation. Recognised as a Leader in Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Observability, New Relic aims to evolve beyond monitoring into a unified intelligence layer connecting performance, reliability, and business outcomes. Emerson's leadership is expected to accelerate this transformation.
BharatPe appoints Ajit Kumar as Chief Technology Officer
Fintech major BharatPe has appointed Ajit Kumar as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead its technology roadmap across payments and lending services. Kumar, with 19 years of experience in engineering and fintech, previously served as Senior Vice President - Engineering at Paytm. He has also held leadership roles at Snapdeal, Times Internet, and SAP Labs India, focusing on scalable platform development. CEO Nalin Negi said Kumar's expertise in payments and UPI infrastructure will help BharatPe strengthen its tech stack and drive innovation. Kumar expressed enthusiasm about joining at a "pivotal time" to build resilient, high-performance platforms that expand digital payments and credit access. His appointment signals BharatPe's renewed push to enhance reliability, scalability, and merchant experience amid India's evolving fintech landscape. Kumar holds a BE in Computer Science and a postgraduate diploma from IISc Bangalore.
Netcore Cloud names Vassil Mladjov to lead global Agentic AI strategy
SaaS marketing firm Netcore Cloud has appointed Vassil Mladjov as Senior Vice President, Agentic AI and Strategy, to advance its global AI-driven personalisation roadmap. Based in the US, Mladjov will lead the company's Agentic AI initiatives - embedding autonomous, intelligent agents across Netcore's marketing suite to enable one-to-one personalisation at scale. "Netcore isn't just participating in the Agentic AI revolution - it's poised to lead it," said Mladjov. A seasoned strategist and entrepreneur, he brings two decades of experience in scaling global SaaS and AI-led companies and advising Silicon Valley startups on AI integration and product innovation. His appointment underscores Netcore's ambition to pioneer Agentic AI - where autonomous agents collaborate to optimise engagement and campaign performance in real time - marking a major leap beyond traditional marketing automation.
Nachiket Deshpande to step down as President of LTIMindtree
LTIMindtree announced that Nachiket Deshpande, Whole-Time Director and President, will step down from his role effective October 31, 2025, to pursue opportunities outside the firm. Deshpande has been instrumental in shaping LTIMindtree's operations and AI services strategy, particularly post the merger of Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Mindtree. During his seven-year tenure, he served as Chief Operating Officer before taking charge of AI services, driving integration of intelligent solutions into client offerings. The company, in a regulatory filing, acknowledged his contributions and noted that all formal processes related to his resignation will be completed by the end of October. Deshpande's exit comes as LTIMindtree intensifies focus on AI-led digital transformation and large-deal pursuits, marking a significant leadership transition at one of India's top-tier IT services firms.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.