Over 150 CIOs and ICT leaders were recognised across two action-packed days that celebrated innovation and excellence.
Each year, CORE Media honors and acknowledges CIOs and ICT leaders who are pushing boundaries and utilizing innovation to drive business growth at the annual CIO Power List. This year’s 9th edition recognized more than 100 CIOs from diverse enterprises and industries who were commended for their leadership in crafting effective digital strategies, contributing to their organizations' growth in the digital landscape.
The awardees were recognised across two main groupings and 43 categories—Business Icons, classifying industry verticals, or Technology Icons, classifying technology horizontals. These categories included Travel & Hospitality Icon, Financial Services Icon, Banking Icon, Blockchain Icon, Analytics Icon, Digital Icon, and more. They were acknowledged for their impactful contributions and influence within the ICT ecosystem and their impact on the business landscape. The winners were shortlisted on the basis of a unique algorithm that took into consideration a range of data collected on the CIOs across multiple channels.
Spread across June 16th and 17th, CIO Power List 2023 was a congregation of India’s most influential IT leaders. Day 1 started with a welcome keynote from Anoop Mathur, Founder, CORE Media. This was followed by an engaging session with Dr. Ajay Chowdhry, renowned Author and Innovator on ‘Just Aspire.’
Next up was an informative session by Ashish Kothari, Vice President, Practice General Management, Kyndryl, on ‘Digital IT Operating Model Transformation’. Then it was time for a highly interactive session on ‘Trends & Insights on Retail and Ecommerce’ with Sandeep Jabbal, Customer Care Associate and Chief Digital Transformation and Information Officer, Shoppers Stop and Sankarson Banerjee, former CIO, RBL bank
Next was a comprehensive power panel on ‘AI at the Core: Driving Enterprise Innovation and Efficiency’ with Sajan Paul, MD & Country Manager, India & SAARC, Juniper Networks; Jitendra Singh, President and Chief Digital Officer, JK Cement; and Anoop Mathur - Founder, CORE Media.
This was followed by a comprehensive session with Prafull Billore, Founder, MBA Chaiwala India, on ‘Completing 6 years: Lessons from the Street to Building a Brand.’
Next was a Quickfire Chat on ‘Powering Hyper Connected Ecosystems’ with Hari Nair, VP Head Solution Engineering India & Global Solution Center, TATA Communications and Anoop Mathur, Founder, CORE Media.
We had Satyen Vyas, President and CEO, SymphonyAI Summit speaking on ‘Transforming Service Management with Copilot.’
Next was an insightful session on ‘Innovations & Disruptions in NBFC’ by Linson Paul, CTO, Muthoot Microfin
Next up was another power panel on ‘Accelerate Innovation with Cloud-Ready and Secure Data Platforms’ with Kashish Karnick - Sr. Professional, Product Marketing Storage, Lenovo ISG AP; Sreeji Gopinathan - Global CIO, Lupin; and Anoop Mathur, Founder CORE Media.
Next, we had a thought provoking session on ‘Data Centers are the Nerve Center for Digital Transformation’ by Amit Agrawal, Chief Business Officer, Web Werks | Iron Mountain Data Centers.
After a short break it was time for the highlight of the day—the CIO Power List 2023 Technology Icons award ceremony! Following the announcement of their achievements, the winners were honored with a recognition on stage, accompanied by warm congratulations from their peers.
Day 2 of CIO Power List 2023 kickstarted with Dr Ketan Shah - Wellness Specialist delivering a keynote.
Next, we had Kaushal Menghaney, Head - ITSM Business, Freshworks India sharing his insights on ‘Spend Less and Get More with ITSM in 2023.’
We had a power panel on ‘Leveraging Data For Reliable Outcomes and Desired Impact’ with Narotam Sharma, CIO, Jubilant Foodworks; Deepak Sharma, President & CDO , Kotak Bank; and Sankarson Banerjee, Former CIO, RBL bank
Next up was a session with Sandeep Bhambure, VP and Managing Director, India and SAARC, VEEAM, on ‘Boardroom Confidence with Modern Data Protection.’ After a short break, we had Soans Joseph Moonjely, India Business Head - Lenovo TrueScale sharing his perspective on ‘Lenovo TruScale - Infrastructure as a Service.’
This was followed by a Quickfire Chat on ‘A Business Perspective in the Fashion Industry’ with Praveen Shrikande, CDIO, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail and Sanjay Narkar, Former CTO, IDFC First Bank
Next up was an enlightening session on ‘Epos: the new epoch. The Vision Beyond’ by Adam Paclt, CEO, IceWarp.
Then, there was a comprehensive session on ‘Confronting the IT Skill Gaps Challenge‘ with Sanjay Kukreja - Principal/ Global Head of Technology, eClerx; Pushkar Rege, CIO, UPL; and Debashish Singh, CIO, Persistent Systems.
Next, we had an insightful discussion on ‘Trends & Insights in the Healthcare industry’ by Dr. Mukund KS, Head IT - ERIS Lifesciences. This was followed by an informative session on ‘Responsible AI’ by Kunal Pande, Partner, KPMG.
We had a CIO Quickfire on ‘CIO Quickfire - Trends & Insights in E-mobility’ with Shashank Sathe, CTO, Magenta and Sankarson Banerjee, Former CIO, RBL bank.
Next, we had a Power Panel on ‘Efficient, Smart and Secure Manufacturing’ with Sumi Vivek, Chief Digital & Transformation Officer, Tata Electronics; Parna Ghosh - President & Group CIO, UNO Minda; and Rucha Nanavati, CIO, Mahindra Group.
After a short break, attendees returned for a thought provoking session on ‘Brand New Start’ by Mainak Dhar, Renowned Author. This was followed by a Quickfire Chat on ‘5 Trends & Insights in the Media & Entertainment’ with Manish Verma, Head, SonyLIV Technology and Sanjay Narkar, Former Chief Technology Officer, IDFC First Bank.
Next was another power panel on ‘Digital Omni Channel Customer Experience in Financial Services’ with Abhijit Singh, Chief Technology & Digital Officer, HDFC; Vamsi Krishna, CTO, Axis Mutual Fund; Harish Sharma, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Toyota Financial Services India; and Ayan De, Head - Enterprise Technology, HDFC Life.
After a short break attendees returned for the much-awaited award ceremony that saw the country’s most influential and powerful ICT leaders step up to take their place as CIO Power List 2023—Business Icons. Following the proclamation of their milestones, the winners were recognized on stage, greeted with warm applause and congratulations from their peers.
