Tech Mahindra: Tech Mahindra appoints former TCS exec to head tech, media biz

Tech Mahindra (TechM), India’s fifth largest technology services provider, has appointed former veteran at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Sumit Kumar Popli to head its Technology Media & Entertainment (TME) vertical.

Popli will be designated as the president for strategic business unit (SBU) head for TME effective October 19, the company informed in a regulatory filing.

Prior to TechM, Popli had an over two-year stint at Deloitte in the Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) industry to expand its operate and technology services offerings within the TMT and private equity industry.

Although Popli spent over 22 years at TCS and last served as the vice president and global head of the hardware & consumer technology industry (computer platforms). At TCS, Popli also worked at other industrial domains including retail & CPG, life sciences & healthcare, travel & transportation, and manufacturing sectors.

TME, labelled at hi-tech and media, accounts for 14.3% of its total revenues of $1.6 billion and grew the highest sequentially at 5.7% and 2.4% from a year ago.

Popli’s appointment is the third big senior executive hiring from top tier firms including TCS and Infosys announced by TechM this year.

Earlier this year, TCS’s former chief marketing officer Rajashree R was hired as TechM’s chief growth officer for strategic verticals in the Americas. And Richard Lobo, former chief human resources officer for Infosys, also joined to take over as chief people officer at TechM in January.The top management changes have been ongoing since TechM’s CEO and managing director Mohit Joshi, formerly with Infosys, was brought in to lead the company in March 2023. Joshi officially took charge in December 2023 following the retirement of its long-time CEO and MD CP Gurnani.

In August 2023, chief operating officer (COO) Atul Soneja joined the company from a small-tier firm CitiusTech. Before CitiusTech, Suneja was with Infosys for many years.

Few senior executives of TechM also resigned from the company last year. Dhanashree Bhat who was chief delivery officer of the communications, media and telecom group, quit to join as COO at Persistent Systems while Manish Vyas, who headed the communications vertical, has joined as the MD and CEO of Prodapt.