Continuing with the commitment in the South Asian region, Karan Bajwa has been appointed as the MD of IBM India business. He succeeds Vanitha Narayanan who has been entrusted Chairman of the unit – a newly created post. 

Karan had joined IBM in 2016 as Executive for Strategy and Transformation in Asia-Pacific. He was previously the MD of Microsoft's India business. Karan will be responsible for all strategic and operational matters related to IBM’s sales, marketing, services and delivery operations in the India/SA region, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He will lead the team to win new business, shape market opportunities by building alliances and partnerships and solidify the company’s position in the marketplace. He will lead IBM’s partnership with clients for a cloud and cognitive led digital transformation of their businesses.

I am humbled and excited as I take on this role of Managing Director of IBM India. I see great opportunity ahead for IBM in this market. By constantly reinventing itself and investing in innovation, IBM today is in a sweet spot to help businesses and governments with their digital transformation journey. I look forward to partnering with the industry, our ecosystem and the IBM team to further strengthen our business in the region,” said Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

As Chairman, Vanitha will play a critical role in enabling capabilities across IBM’s global missions in India, global centers of excellence, research and innovation labs. IBM will rely on her leadership to engage and further strengthen the Government and Regulatory affairs initiatives. She will maximize the value of the entire organization in the region by evangelizing IBM’s brand and solutions in the ecosystem.

IBM has been a key player in India’s technology journey and innovated with our clients in establishing many firsts. I see tremendous opportunity for us to power India’s digital transformation with our cognitive cloud platforms and deep industry expertise. It is incredibly gratifying for me to take over as Chairman of IBM India, a newly created position that reiterates the importance that IBM places on India to support growth and innovation in the region,” said Vanitha Narayanan, Chairman, IBM India.

Vanitha has over 29 years of experience working across IBM in several countries. She has been a part of the IBM India/South Asia business since 2009 and was appointed to the position of Managing Director in 2013. In her tenure as the Managing Director, she has consistently led strong revenue growth and expanded India’s footprint across new industries, making India one of the fastest growing markets for IBM. She comes with deep industry experience and has held various leadership roles in Sales & Distribution, Global Business Services(GBS) and the Telecom sector, across Asia-Pacific and Global markets.

Both, Karan and Vanitha will report to Randy Walker, Chairman, IBM Asia Pacific. These appointments are effective immediately.