Leadership Team of Datamatics

Dr. Lalit S. Kanodia, the founder and Chairman of Datamatics Group of Companies is one of the pioneers in the Indian Software and Offshore Services Industry. He founded Datamatics in 1975, prior to which he was instrumental in setting up of Tata Consultancy Services in 1967.

As Chief Mentor at Datamatics, Dr Kanodia drives all innovation, new product development and quality initiatives. His inspirational leadership has led Datamatics to be conferred with various awards over the years, including the Most Innovative Software Product Award, the International Asia Pacific Quality Award and being ranked among the top 50 best managed outsourcing vendors by 'The Black Book of Outsourcing'.

Dr. Kanodia is the President of IMC chamber of commerce & industry and Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC). In the past, he has held several eminent positions with various industry associations, which include Executive Member of NASSCOM, the apex body of the IT-BPO industry in India; President of the Management Consultant's Association of India and Chairman (Western Region) of the Electronics & Computer Software. Dr. Kanodia has also been on the Board of Directors of several large conglomerates. He was also the Honorary Consul General of Chile in Mumbai, India by the Government of Chile (2002 – 2014).

Dr. Kanodia is currently on the Executive Board of MIT (Europe, Asia and Africa).

After obtaining degree in engineering from India’s premier technology institute, IIT, Bombay, Dr. Kanodia completed his Doctorate in Management and post-graduation in Computer Science from the MIT (USA).

Rahul leads all strategic initiatives driving the long-term growth, profitability, and industry leadership of Datamatics. He been the Chief Architect for transforming Datamatics from a service-led organization to a digital solutions organization focused on delivering deep expertise in Digital Technologies for enhancing business productivity through smart automation and an AI first approach.

Under Rahul’s leadership, Datamatics was recently adjudged as one of Forbes Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion Companies, placing Datamatics among the top 1% of 20,000 listed companies across Asia. Dun & Bradstreet also recognized Datamatics as one of India's Top 500 Value Creators. Additionally, it became one of the first digital technology companies worldwide to receive ISO 42001:2023 Certification for AI Management Systems and was recognized by Microsoft as one of the top three ISV partners globally in their “AI First Movers” program identifying companies for their impactful use of AI at scale.

Recognizing Rahul’s contribution, in 2014 & 2019 he was presented with the ‘CEO of the Year Award’ for his exemplary leadership among organizations from across 41 Asian countries at the Asian Leadership Summit & Awards.

Rahul serves as a Director on the Statutory Board of Safari Industries, and on the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s India Business Initiative. In the past Rahul has served as

Chairman of NASSCOM’s Regional Council, Chairman of the Western Region of ESC (Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, Government of India’s largest electronics and IT trade facilitation organization), a Member of CII Corporate Governance Council, and a member on the Board of the Goa Institute of Management.

Rahul holds an MBA degree from Columbia University (USA), with a major in Business Strategy & Marketing and a minor in Mergers & Acquisition and Turnaround Management. He has two Bachelor degrees from H. R. College (India), with a specialization in Finance & Accounting, and Babson College (USA), with a specialization in Management Information Systems.

Sameer received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bryant University, USA, with Marketing as a Major.  He was on the Dean’s List throughout the academic program, & graduated with Honors. Sameer subsequently received his Master in Business Administration from Bryant University, USA, with Finance as a Major.

Sameer has more than 20 years of professional experience.  He drives various strategic initiatives, expansion plans & go-to-market strategies.  He has managed several large & complex projects.  He set up & oversees the operations in Nashik & Puducherry.  Under Sameer’s able leadership, Datamatics has become the 7^th largest employer in Nashik.

Sameer was a member of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Bryant University, USA, for 10 years until 2017 and has been a member of the Association of Governing Board of Universities and Colleges, USA, since 2012.  He was a member of the IT Committee at the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry for 3 years since 2017-2018 and was a Member of the Knowledge (Skill & Education) Committee for the year 2021-2022. He was a Member of the Managing Committee of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the year 2022-2023, and he has been re-elected on the Management Committee for the year 2023-2024.  Most recently, Sameer has been elected as a member of the National Executive Council of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce for the years 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026.

Kanika Mittal brings over 20 years of experience in digital, technology, retail, and consumer goods. She is currently the Country Head at Taboola, where she has driven significant client engagement and increased reach by 200%. Prior to this, Kanika held roles at Twitter India, where she led revenue growth and managed post-acquisition transitions, achieving double-digit gains, and at Reebok, where she led brand repositioning and digital transformation. Recognized among Impact India's Top 50 Women and Asia's Top 50 Brand Leaders, Kanika holds an MBA from MICA and a B.Com (Hons) from SRCC, Delhi University. She is also a published author and mentors startup founders.

Mrs. Mona Bhide is a commerce and law graduate and has done her LLM from Northwest University School of Law, Chicago. She has further studied Securities Law, Business Corporation and M&A at Kellog Management School.

She is a Managing Partner at Dave & Girish & Co., law firm focusing on Corporate & Securities laws since 1992. She is presently in charge of International Corporate Law and structured finance. She has also advised on Joint ventures, mergers/acquisitions, Securities law (domestic and offshore issues) Project finance, Technology Transfer, Corporate restructuring, Securitisation, Derivatives, and intricated financial structures for Banks and Corporates.

She is rated as "Highly Recommended Lawyer" by Global Counsel 3000 for Projects, Restructuring and Insolvency, Company & Corporate Transactions and Project Finance and is a Member of:-
        • Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa
        • Law Society, London
        • International Bar Association

Dr. Avnish Kshatriya has over 28 years of diverse global experience as a Business Technologist and CXO Advisor working with more than 30 Fortune-500 clients across India, the US, the UK, and Europe across industry verticals. He has driven Digital initiatives for the key enterprise functions of Strategy, Delivery, Operations, Finance, HR and Sales. Dr. Kshatriya is a thought leader in Digital Transformation, enabling organizations for the incubation and leverage of Digital capabilities for strategic growth through P&L-driven practices and service delivery units. He holds degrees from DCE, IIM Bangalore, and IISc and is widely regarded for his cross-functional and collaborative approach to driving organizational change.

Himanshu Verma brings 30 years of executive and operational leadership experience. He is currently transitioning from active roles to mentoring emerging companies in IT, BPO Services, and Software Product sectors. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and member of Executive leadership team at Cognizant Technology Solutions, managing the global growth markets and Digital Native BPO portfolio. He played a significant leadership role in scaling Cognizant's BPO practice which is now one of leading BPO businesses in the industry. He was instrumental in building key practices across Pharma, Retail, Digital Natives, and Finance & Accounting (F&A) services. Himanshu holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Allahabad University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Vinay Aggarwal has an MBA in Finance from North Eastern University, USA. After a stint with Unisys in Detroit, he became the Vice President of Tata Unisys Ltd. (1981- 89). Thereafter he was appointed as CFO of TCS (1990- 2003). Mr. Vinay Aggarwal, was the Chief Financial Officer at TCS for more than a decade, and also worked briefly as CFO of Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications. He is now an Independent Consultant.