Transition at Sonata: Rajsekhar Datta Roy is new CEO as Samir Dhir steps down

MUMBAI: Samir Dhir will step down as chief executive officer of Sonata Software Ltd, the company said on Saturday, marking the first leadership change at a large Indian IT services firm in over a year.

Dhir, who took over as CEO in April 2022, will be succeeded by Rajsekhar Datta Roy, the company’s chief delivery officer, for a three-year term. Dhir chose not to seek reappointment to focus on personal priorities.

“Having regard to my personal priorities at this time, I have decided not to offer myself for reappointment upon expiration of my term. Accordingly, I also hereby submit my resignation from the position of Executive Director of the Company, with effect from the close of business hours on May 8, 2026 (last working date),” said Dhir in his resignation letter dated 25 April.

Sonata Software ended last year with $1.2 billion in revenue, up 15.46% year-on-year. Roy becomes the fourth chief executive of the company after Sanjay Viswanathan, P Srikar Reddy, and Dhir.

The last leadership change at an Indian IT services company with over $1 billion in annual revenue came at LTIMindtree at the start of 2025, when Venu Lambu took over for a five-year term.

“This is clearly a pre-orchestrated succession, not a firefight, which gives Roy a cleaner runway. But it also raises expectations. When a board executes a smooth handover like this, it signals they want faster, more decisive progress, not continuity for its own sake,”said Phil Fersht, chief executive of HFS Research. “Roy isn’t coming in to stabilize, he’s coming in to accelerate. The pressure will be to convert Sonata’s modernization and AI (artificial intelligence) narrative into consistent growth, stronger deal momentum, and clearer differentiation in a crowded mid-market.”

For now, Sonata has hailed Roy for guiding the company into becoming an ‘AI-first' organization.

“Over the past year, Raj has been instrumental in guiding Sonata Software’s evolution into an AI-first organization. He has led efforts in advancing a Responsible AI approach and developing Sonata Harmoni.AI, a responsible-first AI solution for business process automation and technology modernization,” a late company statement to the stock exchanges said.

“He also played a key role in improving operational margins over the past few quarters through focused execution and technology-led efficiencies,” read the release.

However, a second expert pointed to the serious disruption from AI for the new CEO.

“AI-led disruption is the biggest challenge, plus the client-specific challenges which started with healthcare, BFSI and then in the retail segment,” said Amit Chandra, vice-president of HDFC Securities.

The rise of AI tools has posed a challenge to the IT sector, as they are capable of automating much of the human-led IT work that homegrown tech service providers do.