Celonis appoints former SAP exec to drive India market growth

Celonis, a German process mining SaaS provider, has appointed Dilipkumar Khandelwal, on Tuesday, a former SAP and Deutsche Bank executive Dilipkumar Khandelwal as chief customer officer and chairman of its India advisory board, as it steps up its operations in the country. 

This move reinforces Celonis' commitment to delivering measurable value from AI-powered process intelligence and its strategic investment in India as a global innovation and talent hub, the company said in a statement.

“In this economic climate, delivering quantifiable value is the only thing that matters. Our customers are looking for a true partner to help them make AI work for their business,” said Carsten Thoma, President and Board Director at Celonis. 

Thoma believes that Khandelwal has lived in the world of our customers, understands their challenges intimately, and knows how to connect technology to the top, bottom, and green line, making him an ideal leader to guarantee our customers' success.

Khandelwal's role as Chairman of the India Advisory Board will drive Celonis' growth in the region. His background includes building and scaling organisations at SAP and Deutsche Bank, leading a turnaround for a critical business unit, and supporting disruptive technologies as an entrepreneur, investor, and founding member of Plaksha University.

This announcement follows investments like the launch of the Celonis Garage innovation hub in Bengaluru in April. Celonis, which opened its Bengaluru office in 2021 and serves over 150 GCC customers in India, plans to double its headcount in the next 12 months. 

The company recently hired Kaushik Mitra as vice president for India business, to drive growth in the region, who told TechCircle in a recent interview that the company is focusing on developing AI-powered solutions with process intelligence. He further informed that the Celonis Garage facilitates co-innovation with customers, partners, and startups, focusing on advanced solutions such as AI and process mining.