PC: CNBC TV18
Sridhar Vembu, the founder and a long time CEO of Zoho Corporation, recently announced that he will end his position as chief executive and move to Chief Scientist. Effective January 27, 2025, this strategic move would help Vembu focus more on his research and development, especially in the realms of artificial intelligence and deep technology. He broke the news through a post on the X platform.
New Leadership Structure
With Vembu stepping down, Zoho has appointed co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey as the new Group CEO. This change in leadership is expected to bring fresh insights into the company’s operations while preserving its core values and vision.
Other key appointments include:
- Tony Thomas: Leading Zoho US
- Rajesh Ganesan: Overseeing the ManageEngine division
- Mani Vembu: Heading the Zoho.com division.
Emphasis on Research and Development
As the newly appointed Chief Scientist, Vembu intends to spend more of his time investigating transformative technologies and their applicability. Vembu has consistently maintained that research and development are integral to innovation at Zoho. Among others, Vembu is more interested in areas such as AI, distributed systems, and cloud technology, which he believes will play key roles in building next-generation solutions.
Recently, in an interview, he expressed the opinion that growth at the company depends upon bringing various technologies together so as to provide users with a smooth solution, where he mentioned that “Our growth strategy is about bringing all this technology together.”
Zoho has witnessed fantastic growth, with revenues consistently crossing ₹8,000 crores along with profits of ₹2,800 crores in FY23. The company managed to build an overall user base of over 80 million across the globe majorly through its bootstrapped model, where it has maintained its independence and focused more on long-term objectives.
As Vembu moves into his new role, he looks to apply his experience to the products of Zoho and spur further innovation. The company is also broadening its scope beyond software, with investments in semiconductors and e-commerce, a sign that the company is looking to expand in other directions for future growth.
A significant move in the leadership dynamic of Zoho can be seen in the decision by Sridhar Vembu to step down as its CEO and take up the position of Chief Scientist. The company is now well-equipped to continue on the path of innovation and growth in a highly competitive tech arena, keeping research and development at the forefront. Shailesh Kumar Davey is likely to continue this journey of delivering excellence in solutions with the same zeal and push boundaries in exploring new avenues of growth.
