Abhijit Lahiri, Global Head, NAD, Tech Mahindra
Abhijit Lahiri is the global head of Tech Mahindra’s first-of-its-kind cloud native end-to-end IT service delivery engine, #NewAgeDELIVERY (NAD). NAD is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and embodies the three pillars of simplification, automation and sophistication at every stage of the software delivery lifecycle to enhance customer experience. Lahiri’s responsibility is to lead change and disrupt the IT services industry by discovering ways to deliver solutions with zero defect and zero downtime while enhancing efficiency. “The telecom industry has undergone a major transformation and has shifted to a whole new paradigm. 5G, especially, is going to transform networks and service delivery,” he says.
Lahiri started his career in the early 1990s with Usha Martin, where he led the company’s pan-Indian IT operations. Later, he served as head of products at Usha Communications. He joined Tech Mahindra in 2003 as corporate head to set up its BSS/OSS system integration and managed services practice. He remembers this as one of his most memorable assignments, although his current role as transformation agent for Tech Mahindra is by far his most favourite. “Changing from a business role and now leading the NAD engine has been a welcome challenge. NAD is 100 per cent open source and was crowdsourced and co-created with a mix of niche players from the industry and promising youngsters. It has now become the bedrock of IT service delivery for our TechMNxT charter,” he says.
As for his management style, he believes in leading from the front “with sleeves rolled up”. “I have created high performance teams and am proud to have nurtured young leaders who are flourishing in Tech Mahindra and the industry,” he says.
A postgraduate from NIIT, Lahiri has also done executive management programmes at the Harvard Business School, the Indian School of Business and the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). He is a technology enthusiast. “Reimagining the way software is developed and delivered while envisaging a future mode of service delivery and business operations that is lean, nimble, yet powerful is the thought I wake up to every morning,” he says.
Lahiri grew up in Ranchi. His father was in government service, while his mother was a government school teacher. His wife, Rumi, is an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. They have two sons, Arijit and Abhrojit, who are currently pursuing their studies. Lahiri likes to spend his free time in the lap of nature, capturing its many nuances with his camera. “Cooking biryani and savouring it with my family has become a favourite pastime of late,” he says.
