The World CIO 200 Summit 2025 – India (Cochin) Edition, hosted by the Global CIO Forum, successfully concluded on May 8th at Le Meridien Kochi, Nettoor, Maradu. The summit brought together top technology executives and digital transformation leaders from across India for an evening of insight, innovation, and inspiration.
The event opened with a Welcome Keynote by Anushree Dixit, Chief Strategy Officer at Global CIO Forum, who emphasized the critical role CIOs play in shaping resilient and future-ready organizations.
This was followed by Opening Remarks from Ramkumar Mohan, Senior Vice President & CIO, Air Works India Engineering Pvt. Ltd., and Country Ambassador for the event. His address highlighted the evolving leadership landscape and the CIO’s expanding role as a business strategist and innovator.
High-Impact Panel Discussions
Two compelling panel discussions formed the core of the evening:
- Panel 1: “The Next Decade of IT Leadership”, moderated by Dr. Prince Joseph, Group CIO at NeST Group, SFO Technologies, explored what will define bold and unstoppable CIOs of the future. Panelists included:
- Selestin Thomas, GM – Cyber Security, Digital Tech & IT Infra, Nissan Digital
- Sangeeth K Mohan, GM – IT, V Mane Fils
- Vijay Nair, CTO, PanApps
- Ganapathy Venkataraman, IS Consultant
- Panel 2: “Key Technologies Driving CIO Priorities”, led by Pratap Pat Joshi, EVP IT & Chief Evangelist, Yotta Infrastructure Solutions, delved into the CIO’s role in driving innovation through AI, cloud, and automation, while ensuring ethical technology use. Panelists included:
- Ramkumar Mohan, CIO, Air Works India
- Lakshmi Das, COO & Co-Founder, Prophaze
- Sandeep Bansal, CIO, Aone Steel India Ltd
Thought-Provoking Keynotes and Fireside Chat
The summit featured two insightful vendor keynotes:
- Lakshmi Das, COO & Co-Founder of Prophaze, delivered a session on emerging cybersecurity priorities.
- Sagnik Gupta, VP – Sales & Business Development, Yotta Data Services, presented the evolving data infrastructure landscape in India.
A captivating Fireside Chat, moderated by Umesh Unnikrishnan, Founder & Director of Theistic Business Consultants, featured Vikas Agarwal, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and George Arakal, Past Chairman, CSI Mumbai Chapter. The conversation centered on industry collaboration and strategic innovation.
The evening celebrated the achievements of leading CIOs with the prestigious CIO 200 Legend Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to their organizations and the IT community. The award highlighted visionary leadership, innovation, and long-term impact in the digital space.
The event concluded with final reflections by the Country Ambassadors, followed by an elegant dinner and networking session that fostered meaningful conversations and new partnerships among the nation’s top IT leaders.
