IT consultancy Xebia appoints Smit Shanker as Chief Information Officer

Global IT consultancy Xebia has appointed Smit Shanker as its inaugural Chief Information Officer (CIO). Shanker is based out of Switzerland.

With over 25 years of experience in digital transformation and technology, Smit Shanker brings extensive experience to Xebia. He joins from The Adecco Group, where he led the company’s technology transformation services for back office functions such as Finance, Delivery, Operations, Master Data, and Business Intelligence.

Shanker previously held leadership roles at in India at Novartis, Tata Consultancy Services and TechMahindra. Following those experiences, he founded Smit Consulting, providing advisory services on the convergence of design, digital, and data, including CIO support and emerging technology strategies for various industries.

At Xebia, Shanker will oversee the company’s global IT strategy, focusing on internal IT transformation across the firm’s offices in 16 countries, and external business impact, focusing on tech-driven innovation and solutions.

Welcoming Shanker to the role, Xebia’s CEO Anand Sahay said: “We are thrilled to welcome Smit to the Xebia team. His exceptional experience in technology leadership and proven ability to build global technology capabilities will be instrumental as we continue to expand our services and deliver cutting-edge solutions.”

Tobias Wagner, CFO of Xebia, added: “I am delighted to welcome Smit to our leadership team. His strategic approach to IT transformation and extensive experience optimizing investments align well with our goals of operational excellence and business growth.”

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Xebia has around 5,500 staff worldwide. The consulting firm specialises in consulting, digital transformation, cloud, intelligent automation, business process re-engineering, and managed services.