About Me
Experience
(since 2023) – I coach early & growth stage Technology or Tech enabled companies. I help them establish appropriate Governance practices that will enable scale & efficiency. I run programs to help companies understand the philosophy of Agile and the implementation of related project mgmt. frameworks. I advise CxO’s on their Technology strategy and product roadmap. Building on my core strength of Governance, I am certified as a Independent Director for company boards.
(Technology: Smarsh, 21 yrs) – I served in an executive position as EVP at Smarsh and was the leader of a global engineering team responsible for the innovative capture product suite. I built and managed enterprise grade SaaS and on-premise products, scaled the team & operations as the company grew, and successfully executed complex organizational transformations in culture methodologies. I was (jointly) responsible for a P&L close to $100 million ARR. Our Customers were the largest banks & financial institutions in the world who were part of a regulated industry that mandates strict adherence to compliance laws & e-discovery.
My stint in Smarsh lasted 21 years; joining as an Engineer in the early stage I grew through the ranks to EVP as the company rapidly grew & expanded thru M&A’s to become a multi-billion dollar company by valuation and achieved leadership position in the Gartner magic quadrant for Information Archiving.
(CyberCash, ALIT – 4+ yrs) – I was a very successful QA Test engineer focusing on scale by implementing test automation and my experience spanned Mainframe technologies, AS400 and Oracle systems.
(~ 1 year) I was successful as an on-field Sales Engineer selling space in the Yellow Pages for the famed Tata Group (Tata Donnelley). Though short, it was an experience early in my career that taught me how to talk to Customers and present a product’s USP.
(~ 1.5 yrs) Having graduated in Civil Engineering, I had a stint in the Construction industry as a Structrual Engineer as well as a Site Engineer responsible for designing & implementing foundations for medium sized commercial buildings in Bangalore.
B. M. S. College of Engineering. B.E, Civil Engineering August 1991 – August 1995
Certified Independent Director, by IICA
Director Identification Number – DIN 00 0899 1387
Independent Director Number – IDDB-DI-202311-053554
Testimonial
I was six months into the seat as the new CEO, coming onboard as part of a two-company merger between two of the top three software providers in a specialty healthcare market. The opportunity in front of the company was very exciting but the work to integrate our businesses and unify our approach was daunting – especially on the product engineering and technology side of our business. As a non-technical CEO, I needed a lot of help here.
From the first conversation I had with Ajay, it was apparent that he possessed a unique combination of deep, technical knowledge and skills, experience in high growth, dynamic environments coupled with a very high emotional IQ. Ajay quickly learned the background and context of our particular situation, built strong communication channels and relationships with key stakeholders, and began to educate myself and the organization on how to organize our integration ideas into a cohesive and actionable plan.
Throughout the process, communication was stellar. Ajay kept us informed at every step, ensuring alignment and transparency across all stakeholders. Their proactive approach to problem-solving anticipated hurdles before they arose, keeping our integration timeline on track and minimizing disruptions to our operations.
One of the most impressive aspects of working with Ajay was his ability to adapt and pivot in real-time. As unforeseen circumstances emerged, they remained agile, adjusting strategies and implementing solutions with precision and efficiency.
Thanks to Ajay’s invaluable guidance and support, our M&A integration was not only successful but exceeded our expectations. Our technology organization is now stronger, more cohesive, and better positioned to drive our business forward.