Spotlight: CXO movements this week (Sept 20-26)

The week of September 20-26 was abuzz with leadership transitions across the global and Indian technology ecosystem, with senior appointments at Cognizant, Oracle, Cisco, MongoDB, Barracuda Networks, CtrlS Datacenters, Capital One, Ingram Micro, and deeptech startup Ziroh Labs, among others. From hyperscale datacenters to AI-driven platforms and cybersecurity, companies are placing seasoned leaders at the helm to steer their next phase of growth. Here’s a recap:

MongoDB appoints Aamir Sait to drive India growth

MongoDB has appointed Aamir Sait as Area Vice President for India, underscoring the company’s ambition to expand in one of its fastest-growing markets. Sait, who spent over a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and also held leadership roles at RSA Security and Dell Technologies, will oversee sales, marketing, and partner ecosystems.
He is tasked with strengthening MongoDB’s developer base and customer engagement, with a focus on AI-led innovation. Having also founded a cybersecurity startup, Sait brings a blend of entrepreneurial agility and enterprise-scale execution. He will work closely with ASEAN and global teams to drive MongoDB’s India playbook. (Read more)

Ingram Micro names India chief

Enterprise tech distributor Ingram Micro has appointed Flavio Moraes Junior as Managing Director and Chief Country Executive for India, effective October 1. Moraes, who previously headed the Brazil business, succeeds Navneet Singh Bindra, who is retiring after a 22-year stint. Moraes’ tenure in Brazil was marked by an expansion in cybersecurity and cloud services, the launch of the Xvantage digital platform, and strategic acquisitions. With over 25 years of experience across telecom and IT—including leadership positions at Claro, Embratel, and Reuters—he is expected to accelerate Ingram Micro’s India strategy. (Read more)

Barracuda brings in RSA’s Rohit Ghai

Cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks has named Rohit Ghai as CEO, succeeding Hatem Naguib, who led the company since 2021. Ghai, best known for his stint as CEO of RSA Security, also held senior roles at EMC, Symantec, and CA Technologies. As Barracuda scales up amid heightened cyber risks, Ghai’s deep domain expertise in identity and threat management will be critical. He also joins the company’s board of directors. (Read more)

CtrlS Datacenters strengthens leadership bench

Hyderabad-based CtrlS Datacenters has made two senior appointments to fuel its expansion in hyperscale and international markets.
Rahul Dhar, formerly with Microsoft India’s datacenter unit, has joined as President – Global Datacenter Operations. He will focus on operational resilience, standardisation, and the creation of a Central Command Center to manage incident response and uptime across global locations.
Vipin Jain, who earlier served as President, Data Centre Operations, has been elevated to President – Hyperscale Growth, Delivery & Innovation. Jain will lead hyperscale expansion, green datacenter initiatives, and automation-driven delivery models. The moves reflect CtrlS’ aggressive push to strengthen its hyperscale capabilities as hyperscalers and enterprises double down on cloud adoption. (Read more)

Cognizant appoints first Chief Learning Officer

In a move highlighting the importance of workforce upskilling, Cognizant has created the role of Chief Learning Officer and named Thirumala (Thiru) Arohi to the position.
Arohi, a veteran of Infosys, where he led education, training, and learning platforms, will be responsible for global learning programs at Cognizant. With enterprises increasingly competing for digital skills, his appointment underscores how IT services companies are reimagining learning as a lever for business performance.

Cisco boosts security focus in South Asia

Networking giant Cisco has appointed Sandeep Agarwal as Chief Technology Officer – Security, India & SAARC. Agarwal, who previously held cybersecurity leadership roles at Google Cloud, AWS, and Max Life Insurance, will drive Cisco’s security innovation agenda in the region.
With cyberattacks rising in frequency and complexity, Cisco’s move signals an intensified focus on embedding security into enterprise transformation initiatives.

Capital One elevates Bharat Panchal

In the payments sector, Capital One’s Discover unit has appointed Bharat Panchal as Chief Risk & Regulatory Officer – APAC & Middle East. A veteran of NPCI, FIS, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, Panchal will lead the firm’s regional risk and compliance agenda, balancing regulatory demands with digital payments innovation.
His appointment comes as Asia-Pacific continues to drive adoption of real-time payments, requiring stronger governance frameworks.

Ziroh Labs ropes in Turing Award winner

In a marquee startup appointment, Indian deeptech firm Ziroh Labs has named Dr Whitfield Diffie, Turing Award winner and co-creator of public-key cryptography, as its Chief Technologist.
Diffie’s contributions have shaped modern cybersecurity, enabling secure transactions and communications at an internet scale. At Ziroh, he will guide decentralisation and AI-democratisation efforts. The appointment is a major credibility boost for India’s deeptech ecosystem, which is seeing rising investor and global interest. (Read more)

Oracle shifts gears at the top

On the global stage, Oracle announced a major leadership change with Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia stepping in as co-CEOs, replacing long-time chief Safra Catz.

Catz, who led Oracle for 11 years and played a pivotal role in its cloud pivot, will remain vice chair of the board. Sicilia currently oversees applications and AI products, while Magouyrk manages cloud infrastructure. Their joint leadership reflects Oracle’s dual emphasis on cloud infrastructure and AI-enabled applications.

A week of defining shifts

From MongoDB’s India push and Ingram’s leadership renewal to Barracuda’s cybersecurity pivot and Ziroh Labs’ deeptech coup, the week underscored how companies are banking on seasoned leaders to navigate shifting market realities. For Indian IT services, learning and security emerged as key priorities, with Cognizant and Cisco investing in leadership around talent and cybersecurity. In parallel, startups like Ziroh are pulling global pioneers into the ecosystem, signalling India’s growing influence on the world’s technology map.