Sonata Software Appoints Hariprasad Rebala as Chief AI Officer

Bengaluru-headquartered Sonata Software has announced the appointment of Hariprasad Rebala as its Chief AI Officer. The leadership addition comes as the USD 1.2 billion+ modernization engineering company accelerates its ongoing transition into an AI-native enterprise.

In his new role, Rebala will oversee Sonata's end-to-end AI-led business transformation. His responsibilities include shaping and executing the company's AI strategy across offerings, service delivery, platforms, capabilities, ecosystems, and partnerships. The primary focus of the mandate is to drive AI-led business outcomes and native delivery, supporting client enterprises in converting AI adoption into operational velocity and measurable business value.

Rebala brings over thirty years of professional experience spanning enterprise technology, IT services, and the startup ecosystem. Most recently, he served as the Chief of AI Solutions and Growth at a deep-tech AI startup. Prior to that, he co-founded Forfend, where he contributed to building IoT and conversational AI platforms. His career history also includes senior leadership positions at Mindtree, Capgemini, and Wipro, where he scaled business units, developed industry practices, and managed large-scale transformation programs with a focus on Banking and Financial Services.

Rajsekhar Datta Roy, Chief Executive Officer of Sonata Software, noted that the transformation into an AI-native organization remains central to the company's growth strategy. He stated that Rebala's background combining AI startup experience with IT services and enterprise-grade platform engineering will strengthen the executive team.

Commenting on his appointment, Hariprasad Rebala said that enterprises are shifting from experimentation to making AI fundamental to competition and value creation. He emphasized that building differentiated AI capabilities and platforms alongside customers and partners will be critical to turning investments into sustained competitive advantages.

The appointment forms part of Sonata's wider organizational strategy to embed artificial intelligence across its engineering operations, platforms, delivery models, and client solutions. Operating with a workforce of over 6,400 AI engineers, Sonata Software delivers modernization engineering services to global clients across sectors such as Retail and Manufacturing, Tech and Telecom, Healthcare, and Financial Services.

"The appointment of a dedicated Chief AI Officer by an established IT services firm highlights the structural shift happening across the enterprise technology sector. As artificial intelligence moves from pilot phases to core operational infrastructure, companies are increasingly looking for leaders who understand both startup agility and large-scale enterprise execution. Bringing in leadership with deep startup and platform engineering experience is a pragmatic step for established firms aiming to embed AI natively into their service delivery models and client offerings." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes