Former Deloitte, EY and KPMG Partner to head IBM's global business services in India

As IBM’s India practice goes from strength to strength, the global IT services giant has ramped up its operations in the country with the appointment of Samiron Ghoshal as its new Head of Global Business Services in India. The appointment comes just a month after Ghoshal joined the firm as a Managing Partner for India and South Asia. 

Much like most IT services firms across the world, IBM has found itself swimming in business in recent years, as the mixed demand for cloud computing, automation, and cybersecurity has spiked considerably. In India, however, the firm has recently crossed some particularly significant milestones.

Since entering the country in 1951, the firm has established a presence across five of India’s biggest urban centres. On the back of an increasingly digitalised economy, the firm has grown to operate with 130,000 employees in India, which is a big enough number in itself, but also represents a larger headcount than IBM’s home operations in the US, where it employs 100,000 people.

Last month, the firm added one more to this vast pool of employees, in the form of Samiron Ghoshal, who has an illustrious portfolio of experience in the consulting industry. Having graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Rourkee, and subsequently completed an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, Ghoshal began his career at Tata Steel.

He spent eight years at the firm, eventually ascending to the position of Assistant Manager, before entering the services industry as the Manufacturing Head for German ERP provider SAP.  Ghoshal then began his consulting career at Big Four professional services firm Deloitte, where he ended up as an Associate Partner after two years.

The next stop for the executive was Indian IT services giant Wipro, where he spent six years as the Global Head for Energy & Utilities and Strategic Accounts. Subsequently, Ghoshal checked two more Big Four firms off his list, spending six years as Partner & Leader of Technology Consulting at EY before joining KPMG as a Senior Partner.

Now, having spent a month as a Managing Partner for India and South Asia at IBM, Ghoshal has been appointed the Head of Global Business Services for India, wherein he will help develop the firm’s strategic imperatives business, including cloud computing, big data, and analytics.

The firm has been particularly active in boosting this segment in the country. In 2016, the firm acquired a local cloud specialist firm by the name of Sanovi Technologies to offer cloud migration and IT recovery solutions. Earlier this year, the firm launched Bluewolf – IBM’s salesforce subsidiary –  in the Indian market, to bolster its existing roster of 200 clients.

Ghoshal will help integrate these expanding operations, and made his intentions clear by stating, “The main change when I move into this role is that IBM services has the gamut of offerings—from huge brand recall at the advisory level itself, to going through end-to-end solution implementation also. The customer is expecting us to not only be advisors but to be advisors plus implementation plus support.”