VP/GM Technology · CIO-Track Leadership · Gurugram, India
Rohit
Sahai
30 Years Building, Running & Governing Enterprise Technology
P&L Ownership · IT Strategy & PMO · Financial Stewardship · Vendor Governance · Cyber Risk
Independent Director (IICA) · DIN 07196191
Thirty years across every layer of enterprise technology — from operations to governance, from vendor contracts to founder accountability, from the server room to the boardroom. I make technology accountable to business outcomes.
About
Senior Technology Executive —
Building, Running & Governing Technology
"Operations done right is governance in action — every SLA, every vendor contract, every escalation path is a governance decision made at operational speed."
My first job was teaching people to code. Not syntax — but problem-solving from first principles. How to decompose a challenge, question assumptions, and design a solution that addresses the root rather than the symptom. That thinking has been the constant thread across three decades of technology leadership.
From there I went inside the machine, not to write more code but to run what other people had built: budgets, vendors, service levels, the operational plumbing that decides whether a technology promise shows up on a P&L or only in a slide deck.
At Accenture, that meant owning delivery and cost for a Fortune 500 bank's 25,000-user environment, and delivering a 30% year-on-year cost reduction by rationalising a sprawling vendor ecosystem rather than cutting corners in it. At Simplex E-Solutions, it meant owning cyber risk and infrastructure resilience for regulated, safety-critical operations. At Persistent Systems, it meant owning the global IT budget - up to ~USD 70M across run costs, capex, and procurement - and building the governance infrastructure that made it accountable. An IT Budget Lifecycle that brought full transparency to BU leads over their own IT spend, giving them an accurate P&L picture for the first time. A CIO Dashboard spanning 110 IT initiatives across five strategic themes: Cyber Resilience, Technology Modernisation, Data Driven Culture, Employee Experience, and ODC/New Facilities. An IT PMO governing 84 strategic projects across Persistent's existing operations and new facilities in India and globally. And USD 1.39M found that shouldn't have been spent at all.
And for three years, it meant sitting on the other side of the table entirely, as Founder-Director of my own company, signing the GST filings myself, learning what fiduciary duty actually costs when there's no one else to hand it to.
I have cleared the IICA Independent Director Proficiency Assessment (DIN: 07196191) as the natural next expression of a career spent making technology accountable to business outcomes.
Expertise
Technology Leadership, Delivery &
Governance Expertise
Career
Technology Leadership Career —
Persistent Systems · Accenture · Simplex · Satyam
- $1.39M annualised savings through ITFM and licence optimisation
- IT PMO governed 84 strategic projects (USD 15M+) across five CIO themes - Cyber Resilience, Technology Modernisation, Data Driven Culture, Employee Experience, and ODC/New Facilities - spanning Persistent's existing and new facilities across India and globally, with 90%+ on-schedule delivery
- 30% reduction in pre-procurement TAT via workflow automation
- Introduced AI-assisted CIO dashboards, VMO, and Vendor QBR framework
- Designed and ran a 3-tier annual IT strategy planning framework — from CIO-level direction setting through business-case screening to a full-day CIO workshop aligning IT investment with enterprise goals
- Conducted digital maturity assessment across all departments
- Led Microsoft 365 and CRM adoption in liaison with Microsoft and its partners
- Drafted IT policies and prepared the organisation for GRC compliance
- 80% improvement in incident resolution time through ITSM implementation
- 40% reduction in unplanned outages
- 35% increase in client satisfaction scores
- Turned around unmanaged software delivery by streamlining infrastructure and monitoring
- ₹75L revenue in Year 1; 200+ students enrolled; 100% placement rate
- Received Jetking Fastest Growing Franchise Centre Award — recognising exceptional growth across the franchise network
- Achieved highest placement volume in the region
- Enabled Gurugram-based NGOs to leverage technology as a pro-bono contribution
- 30% YoY cost reduction through vendor benchmarking and contract governance
- 98.5% MS patch compliance; 100% anti-virus compliance with zero outbreaks
- 7/7 CSAT across all client engagements; secured multiple renewals and scope extensions
- 80% enhancement in team satisfaction through directed engagement initiatives
- Published case studies for Microsoft and Trend Micro platform implementations
- Led ISO 27001 ISMS implementation from the ground up
- Key contributor to eSCM Level 5 certification achievement
- Led IT transition support for GSK–GPM project; Windows 2000→2003 platform migration
- Devised robust patch management achieving zero virus outbreaks
- Successfully managed SAS70, SOX, and BS7799 IT security audits
- Planned, designed, implemented and commissioned NORTEL Passport 74xx multi-service backbone network across 12 locations for the Indian Army (Central Command, Lucknow)
- Presented solution overview to the Signals Officer-in-Chief at project launch; trained Army personnel for ongoing operations
- Led technology blueprint consultancy for Bank of America's captive offshore BPO in Hyderabad — RFP development, vendor selection, SLA design, contact centre budgeting
- Account management across Wintel and Nortel platforms for call centre and corporate IT clients
- Set up and led the medical transcription unit for Heartland Information and Consultancy Services
- Technical operations for web helpdesk supporting Expertcity.com via SITEL Corporation
- Medical accounting and billing services for American Medical Accounting and Consulting, Inc.
- Senior Faculty at NIIT Ambala Cantt (Aug 1993 – Apr 1996): curriculum delivery, student mentoring, placement support
- Senior Systems Associate at NIIT Chandigarh (Apr 1996 – Mar 1998): systems management and advanced technical instruction
- Achieved Honours Diploma in Systems Management during this period
Engage
Senior Leadership · Independent Director ·
Expert Network · Professor of Practice
Senior Leadership Roles
Independent Director
IICA Certified · DIN 07196191
Expert Network Consulting
Professor of Practice
Credentials
Qualifications, Certifications &
Professional Development
- IICA Independent Director Proficiency Test — Passed
DIN: 07196191 · IDDB: IDDB-DI-202512-073636 - B.Sc. Electronics — Kurukshetra University
2nd & 7th in University · National Merit Scholar · NCC 'A' Certificate - PGDBM (Advanced Diploma in Business Management) — ICFAI University
- Diploma in Cyber Law — Asian School of Cyber Law, Mumbai
- Honours Diploma in Systems Management — NIIT
- ISO 27001 · COBIT 4.1 · CBCI (Business Continuity)
- Cyber Security Expert-Master (CEH, CISM, CISSP) — Simplilearn
- AI in Financial Forecasting · Digital Transformation Leadership
Recognition
Awards & Professional Recognition
ICON Award
'Foresight'
Exceptional Contribution
People Developer & Guiding Star
Cost to Serve
Performance Factor Recognition
Centre Award
University Rank Holder
What Colleagues Say
Peer & Leadership Testimonials
Rohit effortlessly works with cross-functional teams, engaging with CXO leaders and fostering a positive, inclusive environment.
Mukesh Kumar — SVP, EIS Infrastructure & Cloud, Persistent Systems
He has consistently demonstrated exceptional IT leadership and project management skills — instrumental in the success of several key projects, including the GenAI Studio Launch.
Dr. Gaurav Dhakar — Global Head, Industry AI Solutions, HCLTech
He gave me increasing levels of responsibility and provided a safe environment for developing my leadership style. Rohit's unruffled calm attitude, especially when things are not good, is something I liked best about him — an uncommon trait.
Rohit Singhal — Senior Manager, Accenture
He is very structured in his thinking and doesn't think twice to say no if he is not convinced.
Nandakishore T — Director, Generative AI & Data, Uber AI Solutions
Excerpted from recommendations received on LinkedIn.
Beyond the Work
The person behind the leader
"The same eye that finds the composition in a photograph finds the pattern in a governance gap."
Outside of work, I am an avid photographer — drawn to light, texture, and the quiet geometry of everyday scenes. It is a discipline that sharpens the same instincts I bring to technology leadership: patience, attention to detail, and the ability to see structure where others see noise.
Music has been a constant companion across thirty years of travel and transitions — a reminder that the best systems, like the best compositions, only work when every element knows its role.
These are not hobbies I keep separate from who I am professionally. They are part of the same way of seeing.
Contact
Contact Rohit Sahai —
Let's have a conversation
Whether you are a recruiter, a board nomination committee, an expert network, or an organisation looking for technology leadership — I am easy to reach.
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