Sonata Software has appointed Hariprasad Rebala as chief AI officer, placing him in charge of the company's artificial intelligence strategy and enterprise transformation initiatives. The move puts a single executive in control of how the IT services firm builds AI into its engineering operations, platforms, delivery model, and customer offerings.
What the role covers
Rebala will oversee the company's end-to-end AI-driven business transformation, including AI strategy development across services, platforms, capabilities, partnerships, and service delivery. His stated focus is helping organizations convert AI adoption into measurable business outcomes and operational improvements.
The appointment is part of Sonata's broader push to position itself as an AI-focused organization. For executives evaluating technology partners, the creation of a dedicated chief AI officer role signals how the company intends to compete on AI delivery rather than treat it as an add-on service.
Background and experience
Rebala brings more than 30 years of experience across IT services, enterprise technology, and the startup sector. Most recently, he served as chief of AI solutions and growth at a deep-tech AI startup. He previously co-founded Forfend, where he helped develop Internet of Things and conversational AI platforms.
He has also held senior leadership positions at Mindtree, Capgemini, and Wipro, where he worked on business expansion, industry practice development, and large-scale transformation programs, particularly in banking and financial services. That mix of startup and enterprise experience is directly relevant to AI for Executives & Strategy decisions, where the gap between pilot projects and production systems is the usual point of failure.
Executive commentary
Sonata chief executive Rajsekhar Datta Roy said the appointment supports the company's plans to become an AI-focused organization.
"Transforming Sonata Software into an AI-native organization is foundational to our growth trajectory. Hari brings a unique combination of AI startup and IT services expertise, with deep context of enterprise-grade AI platforms and engineering, delivering to outcome-based models. His addition to our leadership significantly strengthens our executive team as we rapidly transform to an AI-native organization."
Rebala said AI is increasingly becoming central to how businesses operate and compete.
"AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to becoming fundamental to how enterprises compete, operate and create value. AI alone will not define the winners - the ability to translate AI into enterprise velocity will. Sonata brings together AI engineering and modernization capabilities, deep industry expertise and strategic technology partnerships to help clients make that shift at scale. My focus will be on building differentiated AI capabilities and platforms with our customers and partners, turning AI investments into measurable business outcomes and sustained competitive advantage."
Why this matters for executives and strategy leaders
The appointment reflects a broader shift in how IT services firms are structuring themselves around AI delivery. Companies evaluating vendors should look for evidence that AI strategy sits at the leadership table, not inside a separate innovation lab. Sonata's decision to create a chief AI officer role - and fill it with someone who has both startup and enterprise experience - is one signal of that structure. For executives setting their own AI agenda, the practical question is whether their organization has a comparable owner for AI outcomes, not just AI projects. That distinction - between running experiments and delivering measurable results - is the core of AI Learning Path for CEOs work.
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