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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Speed, Security, and Stakeholders: What CIOs Must Get Right in 2025
At the 7th edition of the ETCIO Annual Conclave 2025, held against the backdrop of surging technological momentum, India's top CIOs gathered not just to trade implementation strategies—but to redraw the contours of their own evolving Manish Gupta, Group CIO at Aditya Birla Group, reflects on the modern CIO's role, he's quick to move past the conventional definitions. 'The job of a CIO is not internal,' he says. 'It must reach out to all stakeholders. Start by mapping them out—a mammoth task to figure out the human dimension.' It's a sentiment that captures the deepening complexity—and pressure—facing technology leaders today. The CIO is no longer a back-office functionary; they are a visible, strategic actor in a landscape shaped by rising customer expectations, accelerating innovation cycles, and ever-tightening security requirements. Today's CIO navigates: Driving innovation at pace, safeguarding trust, and managing human dynamics that make change possible. It's no longer about mastering technology—it's about leading through it. The Three Arcs of Leadership Kirti Patil, Joint President–IT and CTO at Kotak Life Insurance, defines the evolution through 'the three arcs': The visible shift, the invisible layer, and the human thread. Each is necessary; together, they define whether a CIO merely implements change or drives transformation. The visible shift is the front-end—the customer apps, the chatbot, the digital touchpoints that users experience. The invisible layer is the backend—the architecture, APIs, and data integrations that support the experience. But the most challenging layer may be the last. 'Trust in a brand is trust in digital,' Patil explains, underscoring how technology decisions now have reputational stakes. A failed rollout or breach isn't just a technical error—it's a brand issue. This is why Gupta places so much emphasis on education, exposure, and experimentation. 'Experimentation helps multi-level co-creation in the organization involving all the stakeholders a CIO touches,' he notes. It's not enough to deploy a tool; CIOs must create the cultural and structural conditions that allow for innovation to be shared and scaled. From Tech Steward to Strategic Partner One of the most telling observations comes from Anand Srinivasan, Co-founder and CIO at Akasa Air, who captures the changing dynamic in blunt terms: 'Technology is given. In fact, customers expect you to have cutting-edge tech.' The challenge isn't adoption—it's orchestration. Srinivasan sees the mark of a great CIO in their ability to trust and delegate. 'Listen to the wizkids team, sign the cheques and get out of their way,' he says. His view reinforces a common refrain: The CIO as enabler. But that shift isn't just managerial—it's strategic. As customer-facing tech becomes table stakes, differentiation comes from how quickly and responsibly organizations can build and scale new capabilities. And that brings CIOs to a critical balancing act. Innovation Meets the Trust Imperative Few sectors feel the pressure of that balance more than financial services and insurance. Here, technology must do more than work—it must work without violating trust. Sarang Khewale, Deputy CTO and Head Digital Innovation at SBI, talks of the two-pronged approach he undertook, 'Deeply involved design thinking techniques that help protect data by empathizing,' he says. 'With innovation, trust shouldn't be compromised.' The emphasis on empathy is not rhetorical; it's a design principle, and in industries that manage personal information, it's also a regulatory and ethical necessity. For Rohit Kilam, CTO at HDFC Life Insurance, regulatory sandbox provides ground to land. 'We are building things within the regulatory sandboxes.' Innovation, in his view, must also serve those on the margins—'the bottom of the pyramid'—especially the unbanked and underserved segments. Scaling inclusively requires risk, but that risk must be responsibly managed. The Security Reckoning With every digital advancement comes a new frontier for attack. The cybersecurity conversation is no longer siloed—it now shapes every technology investment. 'There's an attack every day,' says Sunit Vakharia, CTO at Reliance Nippon. 'Need to understand the mind of the attacker, without which you'll never be able to defend.' His focus is not just on tools, but on mindset—building a defense that anticipates, not just reacts. At Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Kanathil Vadakke Dipu, Senior President- Digital Transformation & Innovation, refers to the mock exercises undertaken as 'cyber mahayudh'. The company's effort focused on identifying vulnerabilities and reducing response time. The takeaway: Resilience is no longer a luxury, but a daily operational requirement. Sandeep Khanna, Director at UIDAI, adds a layer. 'The blind spots,' he notes, 'are shadow IT, supply chain risk, and third-party vulnerabilities.' These are threats embedded deep in the ecosystem, not easily visible, but devastating when breached. Looking Ahead The CIO agenda for 2025 is as expansive as it is urgent. Disruption is no longer a question of 'if'—it's a question of preparation and positioning. And as CIOs have been pointing out the writing on the wall for eons now: 'You can't afford to miss disruption.' The modern CIO stands at the intersection of agility and accountability, innovation and integrity. It's a demanding role—but one uniquely positioned to influence the future of business. As Gupta, Patil, and others suggest, the path forward lies not only in systems, but in stakeholders—and in the human capacity to collaborate at scale.
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
ETMarkets Smart Talk: Sell in May? FIIs might pause, but earnings will steer market: Hemant Kanawala
He discusses the impact of potential US tariffs on the pharma sector, the benefits of falling crude oil prices for India, and why a disciplined investment approach is crucial in a sideways market. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In this edition of ETMarkets Smart Talk, Hemant Kanawala, Head – Equities at Kotak Life Insurance, shares his insights on the recent market volatility triggered by global tariff concerns and rising geopolitical foreign investors (FIIs) have turned cautious, Kanawala believes the trajectory of corporate earnings will play a decisive role in determining the market's discusses the impact of potential US tariffs on the pharma sector, the benefits of falling crude oil prices for India, and why a disciplined investment approach is crucial in a sideways Nifty likely to consolidate between 22,000 and 25,000, Kanawala emphasizes the importance of asset allocation and long-term perspective amidst short-term noise. Edited Excerpts – India-Pakistan tensions . What is your take on markets?A) We believe that the market will consolidate in the range of 22,000 to 25,000 as it navigates through uncertainties with regards to tariffs, geopolitics and regarding these will cap the upside in the near term. On the lower side, at 22,000, valuations are closer to the long-term average and hence limit the downside.A) The US President has not yet announced tariffs on the pharma sector, as healthcare is a politically sensitive subject and a large component of the US economy in terms of he has reiterated that tariffs on the pharma sector will be announced soon. This uncertainty has led to a correction in pharma stocks. sell in May & go away'?A) It is difficult to predict the near-term direction of the market amid the uncertainties mentioned above. Investors will focus on the trajectory post-current earnings the earnings outlook is stable, then the current positive sentiment towards India can continue.A) Prices are lower as the demand outlook is weak, and OPEC has increased supply. Lower crude oil prices help India in terms of lower current account deficit and also improves the government's ability to support the economy through fiscal and monetary measures.A) As GDP growth remains in the range of 6%, inflation is below 4% and the margin outlook is stable, earnings are likely to grow at the high single digit to low double-digit in the near the global trade scenario stabilises and the Indian economy accelerates, earnings growth can improve.A) Investors should decide on asset allocation based on their risk appetite and avoid creating large deviations from is part of the investment process, but experience suggests that a disciplined approach to investing helps in achieving investment goals.A) Ideal asset allocation is always individual specific and will be based on their risk appetite.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETMarkets Smart Talk: Sell in May? FIIs might pause, but earnings will steer market: Hemant Kanawala
He discusses the impact of potential US tariffs on the pharma sector, the benefits of falling crude oil prices for India, and why a disciplined investment approach is crucial in a sideways market. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In this edition of ETMarkets Smart Talk, Hemant Kanawala, Head – Equities at Kotak Life Insurance, shares his insights on the recent market volatility triggered by global tariff concerns and rising geopolitical foreign investors (FIIs) have turned cautious, Kanawala believes the trajectory of corporate earnings will play a decisive role in determining the market's discusses the impact of potential US tariffs on the pharma sector, the benefits of falling crude oil prices for India, and why a disciplined investment approach is crucial in a sideways Nifty likely to consolidate between 22,000 and 25,000, Kanawala emphasizes the importance of asset allocation and long-term perspective amidst short-term noise. Edited Excerpts – India-Pakistan tensions . What is your take on markets?A) We believe that the market will consolidate in the range of 22,000 to 25,000 as it navigates through uncertainties with regards to tariffs, geopolitics and regarding these will cap the upside in the near term. On the lower side, at 22,000, valuations are closer to the long-term average and hence limit the downside.A) The US President has not yet announced tariffs on the pharma sector, as healthcare is a politically sensitive subject and a large component of the US economy in terms of he has reiterated that tariffs on the pharma sector will be announced soon. This uncertainty has led to a correction in pharma stocks. sell in May & go away'?A) It is difficult to predict the near-term direction of the market amid the uncertainties mentioned above. Investors will focus on the trajectory post-current earnings the earnings outlook is stable, then the current positive sentiment towards India can continue.A) Prices are lower as the demand outlook is weak, and OPEC has increased supply. Lower crude oil prices help India in terms of lower current account deficit and also improves the government's ability to support the economy through fiscal and monetary measures.A) As GDP growth remains in the range of 6%, inflation is below 4% and the margin outlook is stable, earnings are likely to grow at the high single digit to low double-digit in the near the global trade scenario stabilises and the Indian economy accelerates, earnings growth can improve.A) Investors should decide on asset allocation based on their risk appetite and avoid creating large deviations from is part of the investment process, but experience suggests that a disciplined approach to investing helps in achieving investment goals.A) Ideal asset allocation is always individual specific and will be based on their risk appetite.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
