Chief Technology Officer — Data-Products Franchise

The mandate

Customer and operating evidence now point to a technology architecture decision that will determine the next growth phase within a privately held enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the data-products franchise during a margin recovery programme. For mandate 118, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Technology Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹1,350 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several data-products franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Technology Officer Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 550 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Technology Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the data-products franchise. The Chief Technology Officer Technology seat must resolve a margin recovery programme, while preserving the underlying strengths of the data-products franchise. For mandate 118, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Technology Officer’s first year on the data-products franchise is expected to end with engineering velocity, reliability and a funded target architecture. In mandate 118, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Technology Officer — Data-Products Franchise seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the data-products franchise, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a margin recovery programme cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Technology Officer value-creation thesis for the data-products franchise, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹1,350 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Technology Officer Technology organisation of about 550 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the data-products franchise economics and execution constraints created by a margin recovery programme, with Chief Technology Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Technology Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the data-products franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have made consequential architecture and engineering trade-offs while scaling release throughput and reliability in mandate 118.
• Build the Chief Technology Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the data-products franchise, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the data-products franchise baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a technology architecture decision that will determine the next growth phase, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Technology Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the data-products franchise, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable data-products franchise trend against engineering velocity, reliability and a funded target architecture, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Technology Officer’s agreed first-year data-products franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Technology Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the data-products franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Technology Officer mandate’s highest-priority data-products franchise risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical data-products franchise talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Technology Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Technology Officer-owned improvement in the data-products franchise operating constraint behind a margin recovery programme, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 118: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a CTO, VP Engineering or Chief Architect in a privately held Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the data-products franchise, your Chief Technology Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Technology Officer brief.

As a Chief Technology Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹800 crore and led an organisation of at least 420 people.

For mandate 118, the board wants two transitions: a difficult data-products franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a margin recovery programme. As the prospective Chief Technology Officer for this data-products franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 118 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Technology Officer role in Technology is based in Pune; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CTO, VP Engineering or Chief Architect, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Technology Officer ownership of at least ₹800 crore and leadership of no fewer than 420 employees in a comparable data-products franchise context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of a technology architecture decision that will determine the next growth phase with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Technology Officer-level data-products franchise consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Pune location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 118.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Technology Officer package is ₹3.2–4.6 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final data-products franchise scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 118 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Technology Officer appointment in Pune, centred on the data-products franchise, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 118.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 118. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 118.