Dilip Kastala joins CK Birla Group’s HIL as CIO

HIL Limited, a group company of $2.8 billion conglomerate CK Birla Group, has appointed Dilip Kastala as its chief information officer (CIO). 

Kastala joined HIL from Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, where he served as vice president and head of digital, information technology, and process excellence for the biologics business. 

HIL Limited, formerly known as Hyderabad Industries Limited that owns brands like Charminar and Birla Aerocon, works in the construction materials, machinery, industrial supplies and components and logistics network domain. The company operates in India and Germany. 

A B.Tech in computer science from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad and a master’s in computer science from Eastern Michigan University. Kastala's is based in Hyderabad, and will oversee the expansion of HIL's digital and IT initiatives from the corporate office. His primary focus will be on scaling up their digital operations, introducing cutting-edge technologies, and leveraging their corporate potential to drive innovation and efficiency. 

Kastala has worked in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, technology, IT consulting, infrastructure, agriculture, chemicals, automotive, textile and power. 
During his nearly four-year tenure at Dr. Reddy's, he led the digital transformation agenda for their Biologics division. This involved defining the digital transformation strategy and implementing initiatives such as AI and ML Ops, GCP/AWS-based Data Lakes, RPA, NLP, Computer Vision, Industry 4.0 technologies, and automation solutions for manufacturing, quality, research and development, clinical operations, and regulatory compliance. He also played a role in core digitization projects like SAP S/4 HANA, data analytics, and business intelligence. 

Prior to Dr. Reddy’s, Kastala served as group CIO - NSL Group (Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, Textiles, Sugar, Power, Infrastructure). He also had a stint with American pharmaceutical company Merck and auto manufacturer General Motors.