Goa, India – 22 May 2025: StrategINK successfully concluded the 3rd edition of its prestigious Visionary Awards, honouring outstanding achievements in the enterprise IT ecosystem in Goa on 17th May 2025. The event recognized both IT Visionaries and Tech Visionaries – IT leaders and solution providers who are transforming business outcomes through strategic innovation, digital excellence, and cutting-edge technology deployment.
Lamp Lighting: Mr. GP Singh, Emeritus Scientist, CDRI (center), along with Manish Sharma, CBO; Prateek Tokas, CKO, Vinod Singh, MD and Santanu Ganguly, CEO, from StartegINK (Left to Right
Held amidst an audience of 200 influential digital leaders and technology enablers, the awards received over 385+ nominations, spanning key roles such as CIOs, CISOs, and CDOs across industries in India. These awards are truly “For the CIOs, By the CIOs.” Designed as a platform to celebrate peer-recognized excellence, the awards placed decision-makers at the core of the evaluation process — ensuring authenticity, relevance, and impact.
Amitabh Kant
G20 Sherpa, Government of India
A major highlight of the evening was the Keynote Address delivered by Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa and one of India’s most admired bureaucrats. In his address, Mr. Kant applauded the digital transformation momentum in India and encouraged enterprises to continue driving inclusive innovation. Adding to the significance, he also personally presented the awards to all the winners, lending the ceremony a remarkable sense of pride and credibility.
Jury Panel
This year’s jury comprised a distinguished panel of industry leaders and experts, including – Prateek Tokas – Chief Knowledge Officer, StrategINK; Aparna Kumar – ex-CIO, State Bank of India; Annie Mathew – CIO, Ashoka University; Santanu Ganguly – CEO, StrategINK and Venkatesh Natarajan – Executive Coach & Ex-President – IT & CDO, Ashok Leyland.
Their collective insights ensured a robust and unbiased evaluation process, focusing on leadership in tech-enabled innovation, resilience, and customer value delivery.
Vinod Singh
Managing Director, StrategINK
The Managing Director of StrategINK, Mr. Vinod Singh highlights, “Technology leaders are the architects of transformation. StrategINK’s Visionary Awards celebrate this symbiotic relationship, honouring visionary IT leaders’ foresight and business impact while recognizing tech OEMs that translate their needs into cutting-edge solutions. At StrategINK, we are proud to create a platform that celebrates this collective pursuit of innovation and excellence. We also extend our best wishes to all the nominees. There were many insightful digital transformation initiatives across organizations, and while we had to select the top 30, every effort showcased a remarkable impact. Congratulations to all the winners!”
SPOTLIGHT ON AWARD WINNERS
IT VISIONARY AWARDEES 2025:
CIO OF THE YEAR
ARVIND SIVARAMAKRISHNAN, KARKINOS HEALTHCARE
CISO OF THE YEAR
MUNEER H. KONGAWANI, THE J&K BANK
CTO OF THE YEAR
DR. SANTOSH KARTHIKEYAN VISWANATHAN, ASTRAZENECA
VISIONARY DIGITAL NATIVE
ASHUTOSH MISHRA, WIOM
VISHAL VISHWAKARMA, KISSHT
VISIONARY IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
NISHA DULHANI, VODAFONE IDEA
VIVEK ZAKARDE, INDIAFIRST LIFE INSURANCE CO.
VISIONARY IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (CX)
RAJEEV SOOTA, USHA INTERNATIONAL
ASEEM AGRAWAL, ASIAN PAINTS
RUPESH NIRGUDE, PRISM JOHNSON
VISIONARY IN CYBERSECURITY EXCELLENCE
KISHAN KENDRE, BLUE STAR
JAGANNATH SAHOO, GUJARAT FLUOROCHEMICALS
ANBU DAVID, HOLCIM ASIA
SANJAY JAISWAL, NUVAMA WEALTH INVESTMENT
AVINASH TIWARI, PIDILITE
PRAKASH KUMAR RANJAN, SAMMAAN CAPITAL
MAHENDRA SONI, SODEXO
VISIONARY IN DIGITAL RESILIENCE
SRINIVASAN BALRAJ, MUTHOOT FINCORP
SRIKANT PARIPELLEY, STOCK HOLDING CORPORATION OF INDIA
BIREN PARIKH, SYMPHONY
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (HEALTHCARE)
RAHUL BORSE, RPG LIFE SCIENCES
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (ENERGY)
RAJNEESH SINGH, RAYS POWER INFRA
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (LIFESTYLE)
RAGHUBIR SINGH, RELAXO FOOTWEARS
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (AVIATION & AEROSPACE)
RAMKUMAR MOHAN, AIR WORKS INDIA ENGINEERING
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (BFSI)
ASHIS ROUT, HDFC BANK
VISIONARY IN INDUSTRY VERTICAL (MANUFACTURING)
NANTHA RAM RAMALINGAM, DYSON TECHNOLOGY INDIA
VISIONARY IN IT INFRASTRUCTURE
ABDUR RAFI, ABP
SHIVSHANKAR SINGH, ABANS GROUP OF COMPANIES
KIRAN NAIK, JSW INFRASTRUCTURE
AVADHUT PARAB, WAAREE ENERGIES
VISIONARY IN SUSTAINABILITY
SUNIL PAHUNE, MANAS AGRO INDUSTRIES & INFRASTRUCTURE
TECH VISIONARY AWARDEES 2025:
- IT INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTION PROVIDERS
- DESKTOP: HP
- LAPTOP: LENOVO
- WORKSTATION: DELL TECHNOLOGIES
- WIRELESS NETWORK: RUCKUS NETWORKS
- SERVER: IBM
- STORAGE: HITACHI VANTARA
- HYPER CONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE (HCI): NUTANIX TECHNOLOGIES
- NETWORK: CISCO
- ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE PROVIDERS
- VIRTUALIZATION SOFTWARE: VMWARE BY BROADCOM
- COLLABORATION TOOL: MICROSOFT TEAMS
- IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT: SERVICENOW
- NETWORKING SOFTWARE: JUNIPER NETWORKS
- CLOUD PLATFORM PROVIDER
- PRIVATE CLOUD: AWS
- PUBLIC CLOUD: GOOGLE CLOUD
- DATA MANAGEMENT & ANALYTICS PLATFORM
- CLOUD DATA & ANALYTICS PLATFORM: SNOWFLAKE
- ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: OPENTEXT
- SECURITY PLATFORM PROVIDER
- CLOUD-NATIVE APPLICATION PROTECTION: SYSDIG
- SECURE ACCESS SERVICE EDGE (SASE): VERSA
- END POINT PROTECTION: SENTINELONE
- DATA LOSS PREVENTION: FORCEPOINT
- ZERO TRUST NETWORK ACCESS (ZTNA): NETSKOPE
- DATA SECURITY PLATFORM: THALES
- APPLICATION SOFTWARE PROVIDER
- ERP: SAP
- SCM: ORACLE
- CXM: SALESFORCE
- HCM: DARWINBOX
“While an idea inspires, the tools and solutions help achieve the objectives. A visionary leader’s foresight is as important as the Tech OEM’s vision to build an innovative solution. Visionary awards acknowledge and celebrate this symbiotic relationship,” highlights Prateek Tokas, Chief Knowledge Officer, StrategINK