Q] Tech Mahindra has been positioning itself around the idea of ‘Scale at Speed.’ What does this mean for your clients and teams?
‘Scale at Speed’ emerged from deep listening. When we engaged with our clients to understand what they most urgently needed from a partner in today’s environment, two demands came up repeatedly.
First, the need to scale rapidly, across technologies, geographies and business models. Second, the urgency to execute with speed. This is where Tech Mahindra fits in uniquely. The industry today is either composed of behemoths above twenty billion dollars in revenue or smaller players below five billion. We operate in that strategic mid-zone, between five and ten billion, where we can offer both the breadth and agility.
With over 150,000 employees spread across 90 countries and full-stack capabilities that span infrastructure, cloud, AI, applications and BPS, we have the muscle to scale and the flexibility to move quickly. What also sets us apart is our culture of accessibility. For us, relationships matter. Our clients find that our top management is always within reach. That warmth and responsiveness is embedded in our brand promise. In essence, ‘Scale at Speed’ is not just a tagline, it’s a commitment.
Q] What are the key marketing priorities for Tech Mahindra as you move through FY25 and beyond?
When I joined Tech Mahindra less than two years ago, the organization made a strategic decision to unify its global marketing under a single leadership. This marked the first time the company created a fully centralized, KPI-driven global marketing team. Our priorities were designed to drive clarity and performance across geographies and verticals.
At the core, we focused on four pillars. The first was improving brand awareness and brand perception. It’s not only about how many people know us but also how they understand and respect our story. The second priority was demand generation. With over 1,000 clients currently, our goal is to engage more deeply with Global 2000 companies and attract new business. Third, we focused on expanding existing relationships through robust account-based marketing strategies. And finally, we concentrated on large-deal marketing, working closely with advisors and private equity channels to win transformative engagements. These four strategic levers define our operating model.
Q] How has the role of marketing evolved within the IT industry over the past two decades and what are the biggest shifts you’ve observed in strategy, tools and audience behavior?
It’s been an extraordinary journey. When I started out in the late 90s, the first laptop or a Nokia communicator felt magical. Fast forward to today and we are navigating a world saturated with billions of devices, where each consumer accesses content across multiple platforms. This proliferation has added layers of complexity.
Marketers now must cut through immense digital clutter. However, it has also opened up precise, contextual avenues to reach the right audience at the right moment. At Tech Mahindra, we have embraced this shift wholeheartedly. We operate like a challenger brand, fifth in size among Indian IT companies, but constantly striving to outperform on agility and relevance. We use targeted campaigns instead of traditional mass-market outreach. For instance, during major events, we place ads in ride-share apps at the exact time our prospects are commuting, knowing they’re likely checking their phones.
Whether it’s reaching banking executives in Manhattan between 9 and 9:30 am or activating mobile-first content strategies, we are operating with a level of precision that was unthinkable a decade ago. The era of spray-and-pray is long gone.
Q] With AI dominating conversations in tech, how has it impacted your marketing strategy?
AI is a game-changer, much like digital and mobile once were. Every few years, we encounter a new shift that forces us to rethink our approach and AI is one such inflection point. It has changed how we generate ideas, build campaigns, and engage audiences.
At Tech Mahindra, AI is not just a buzzword. It’s integrated into every aspect of our value chain. We use AI not to replace our human marketers but to enhance their creativity. For example, writing content, be it a blog or a press release, often begins with that daunting blank screen.
With AI, we now have a partner that helps spark ideas, critique drafts and offer alternatives. We have clear internal guidelines that ensure every piece of AI-generated content is human-reviewed. This hybrid model has raised the quality bar. Personally, I find this new AI-powered workflow deeply rewarding. It’s efficient, smart, and most importantly, it allows us to deliver marketing that is sharper and more effective.
Q] How has India’s role in the global tech talent ecosystem evolved in recent years?
The shift has been remarkable. Earlier, India was seen as a delivery hub for low-value tasks. That perception has completely transformed. Today, India is viewed as a strategic, technology-led partner capable of driving innovation. When international clients visit India, they are astounded by the pace and ease of digital services.
I recently made four trips to India and didn’t use cash even once. That says a lot about how embedded technology has become in everyday life. Clients feel this shift when they engage with Indian technologists. The dialogue has changed, from ‘execute this’ to ‘advise us on what we should be doing.’ That’s a powerful repositioning. Tech Mahindra is proud to be part of that leadership arc.
Q] What are you doing to keep innovation alive across the company and within your marketing team?
Innovation is not a siloed function; it must be cultural. At the enterprise level, we run programs like InnoVerse, which crowdsource ideas from across our 150,000-strong workforce. These aren’t just theoretical exercises. They generate hackathons, proof-of-concepts and client-facing solutions that emerge from grassroots creativity. We have already trained over 77,000 employees in AI and will soon roll out AI-based co-pilots on every device.
Within marketing, we make it a point to stay plugged into trends. Just this morning, I was in a brainstorming session about how a U.S. political campaign reshaped digital engagement through short-form, vertical video. That inspired us to think: What if we transformed traditional case studies into 30-second videos optimized for LinkedIn and mobile? Fewer people today download long whitepapers. Instead, they engage with scroll-stopping content. So our team is working on that. Innovation, to me, is about staying open, staying curious, and moving fast.
Q] As you look to the future, what excites you most about the evolving role of marketing?
This is the most exciting time to be a marketer. The confluence of AI, storytelling, and technology offers endless possibilities. But to harness it, we need to be rooted in empathy and powered by agility. At Tech Mahindra, we’re not just adapting to change—we’re helping shape it. And that makes all the difference.
