New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- Bengaluru-based IT services company Sonata Software has appointed Hariprasad Rebala as its chief AI officer as it seeks to embed artificial intelligence across its operations and client-facing services.
Rebala will lead Sonata's AI-led business transformation and oversee its strategy across service offerings, delivery, platforms, organisational capabilities, technology partnerships and the broader ecosystem, the company said on Tuesday.
His mandate will include developing AI-native delivery models and helping clients move AI projects beyond experimentation towards measurable business outcomes. The appointment is part of Sonata's broader effort to integrate AI into its engineering operations, technology platforms and client solutions.
Rebala has more than three decades of experience across IT services, enterprise technology and startups. Before joining Sonata, he served as chief of AI solutions and growth at a deep-tech AI startup, which the company did not name.
He previously co-founded Forfend, where he worked on Internet of Things and conversational AI platforms. Rebala has also held senior positions at Mindtree, Capgemini and Wipro, with experience in building industry practices, scaling businesses and leading transformation programmes, particularly in banking and financial services.
"Transforming Sonata Software into an AI-native organisation is foundational to our growth trajectory," said Rajsekhar Datta Roy, chief executive of Sonata Software.
Roy said Rebala's experience across AI startups and IT services, including enterprise-grade AI platforms and outcome-based delivery models, would support the company's AI transformation.
The appointment comes as Indian IT services companies increasingly create dedicated AI leadership positions and reorganise their service portfolios around generative and agentic AI. The shift reflects growing pressure from enterprise clients to move AI initiatives from proofs of concept to production deployments capable of delivering productivity improvements, cost savings or revenue growth.
IT services firms are also attempting to break the traditional link between revenue growth and proportional increases in headcount by using AI across software development, testing, infrastructure management and business-process operations.
Rebala said his focus would be on building differentiated AI capabilities and platforms with Sonata's customers and technology partners.
"AI alone will not define the winners-the ability to translate AI into enterprise velocity will," he said, adding that enterprises increasingly need to connect AI engineering with modernisation capabilities and industry expertise to generate measurable returns from their investments.
Sonata said the appointment would strengthen its executive leadership as the company works to become an AI-native organisation. It did not disclose whether Rebala would report directly to the chief executive or provide a timeline for rolling out the proposed AI platforms and capabilities.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.