Spotlight: CXO movements this week (July 12 -18)

The week (July 12-18) saw several CXO movements in the technology domain. Technology companies such as NetApp, Celonis, Rakuten Group, and Dynatrace appointed industry leaders in key business positions. Non-IT companies such as Tata Capital Housing Finance Limited, Manipal Hospitals and JSW Group, among others, appointed tech executives to lead some of their IT and digital affairs. Here’s a roundup:

Japanese IT firm Rakuten Group has named Tsubasa Shiraishi as the new CEO of Rakuten India, effective August 5, 2025, succeeding Sunil Gopinath, who is stepping down after leading the India centre since 2017. Shiraishi, currently Vice Chairman at Rakuten India and General Manager of Rakuten Group’s IT Strategy Department, has been instrumental in driving Rakuten’s innovation agenda in India for the past five years. Gopinath's tenure saw the India centre expand its strategic importance, contributing to advancements in cloud, observability, and platform technologies.

Read more: Tsubasa Shiraishi succeeds Sunil Gopinath as Rakuten India CEO

NetApp has appointed Kiran Sukhtankar as Director of Systems Engineering for India and the SAARC region. Sukhtankar will oversee the company’s systems engineering operations, focusing on technical engagement with customers and partners. He brings over 30 years of technology experience, including senior leadership roles at IBM, Oracle, Hitachi Data Systems, Symantec, Veritas, and Cohesity, with a focus on pre-sales engineering, enterprise data management, and security across India, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

Read more: NetApp appoints Kiran Sukhtankar as Director of Systems Engineering for India and SAARC

Celonis, a German process mining SaaS provider, has appointed Dilipkumar Khandelwal as chief customer officer and chairman of its India advisory board to accelerate its operations in the country. Khandelwal, a former SAP and Deutsche Bank executive, will drive Celonis' growth in the region. His experience includes building and scaling organisations, leading business turnarounds, and supporting disruptive technologies.

U.S.-based technology company, Dynatrace, has appointed Arun Balasubramanian as Managing Director for India and the SAARC region to bolster its regional presence and customer engagement. Balasubramanian brings over 25 years of enterprise technology experience, including leadership roles at UiPath, ServiceNow, Qlik, Salesforce, and Microsoft, where he drove growth in cloud computing, automation, and digital transformation. His expertise in enterprise IT and building partner ecosystems will guide Dynatrace's strategy in the region, expanding its footprint and helping organisations leverage observability, AIOps, and automation.

The week also saw several non-technology companies hiring tech executives to lead their IT and digital strategies. Prashant Chauhan has become the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Tata Capital Housing Finance Limited (TCHFL), a subsidiary of Tata Capital Limited. He previously served as Deputy Vice President at Tata Capital since December 2015, overseeing technology strategy, digital transformation, and home loan platforms. Chauhan also has experience at Reliance Capital and holds multiple MBAs and a B.Tech in Computer Science.

Read more: Tata Capital Housing Finance gets a new CIO

Anirban Mukherjee has been appointed Group Manager – Information Technology at Manipal Hospitals. He brings over 20 years of experience in IT infrastructure, data centre management, and strategic technology planning to the role, where he will lead technology operations, infrastructure modernisation, and strategic IT initiatives across the hospital network. Mukherjee previously served as Chief Manager – IT at Manipal Hospitals and has held leadership positions at Fortis Healthcare, UEM India, NIIT Ltd, and Fedders Lloyd. His experience includes setting up data centres and MPLS networks, as well as spearheading hospital IT setups.

JSW Group, an Indian conglomerate with diverse business interests including steel, energy, infrastructure, cement, paints, and sports, appointed Manish Sehgal as Head of Information Security to lead cybersecurity strategy and risk management across all business verticals. Sehgal, formerly CISO and VP at CloudSEK, brings 20+ years' experience from BFSI, IT, travel, and cloud security roles at companies like AU Small Finance Bank, HPE, VFS Global, and Wipro. At JSW, he will drive enterprise-wide cyber risk strategies, leading compliance initiatives, developing threat management protocols, and creating frameworks for secure innovation.