TechVerse 2026 Chennai has convened successfully as it brought together senior technology leaders, CIOs, CTOs and cybersecurity decision-makers to engage in deep conversations around enterprise resilience, AI-led transformation, cloud modernisation and next-generation cybersecurity.
The event opened with a welcome address by Vaibhav Kumar, Vice President, Tech Disruptor Media (a brand of Bharat Network Group), setting the context for the day by emphasising the importance of collaborative learning and leadership-driven technology adoption across industries.
A key highlight of the forum was the unveiling of Tech Disruptor Magazine, jointly unveiled by Babitha SJ, Sales Director – South & East, Azul; Ravinder Katti, Founder & CEO, Tech Partner; Kalyan Chakravarthy, Vice President – Technology, GRT Jewellers India; Om Chaturvedi, Account Manager for India Mid-Market Commercial, Druva; Dr. Ashish Srivastava, Founder & Director, Bharat Network Group and Vaibhav Kumar, Vice President, Bharat Network Group.
The unveiling reflected the publication’s continued focus on enterprise innovation, digital leadership and emerging technology trends.
The knowledge sessions commenced with a technical presentation by Om Chaturvedi, Account Manager – India Mid-Market Commercial, Druva, who addressed the theme of overcoming real-world cyber challenges through a modern approach to cyber resilience, highlighting how organisations can move beyond traditional security models to build business continuity.
The first panel discussion, titled “Rethinking Data Resilience in an AI-Driven Enterprise: From Backup to Business Continuity,” featured Kalyana Chakravarthy, Vice President – Technology, GRT Jewellers India; Manjunath Prasad, Head IT, TVS Mobility Private Limited; Krupasindhu Roul, CIO & Head IT, Tube Investments of India Limited; Nelson Kulandairaj, Chief Data Officer, CielHR; and Srinivasulu Thayam, CTO, Aravind Eye Care.
The session was moderated by Balaji TK, AVP – IT, Flexi Loans, and explored how AI is reshaping enterprise resilience strategies and redefining data protection as a business-critical function.
Following this, a technical presentation on cloud modernisation was delivered by Arun Singh, CSO, Tech Partner, alongside Ravinder Katti, Founder & CEO, Tech Partner, focusing on evolving cloud architectures and the strategic role of cloud in enterprise agility.
Another technical session by Tarun Lalwani, Principal Sales Engineer – India, Azul, examined why forward-thinking CIOs continue to rely on Java to power AI-driven workloads and sustain competitive advantage.
This was followed by Syed Hyder, Senior Manager – Systems Engineering, Fortinet, who presented insights on strengthening enterprise defence through GenAI, quantum-ready security frameworks and secure browser technologies.
The second panel discussion, “AI-Powered Data Centres: The Evolving Foundation of Enterprise Intelligence,” brought together, Suresh Vijayaraghavan, CTO, THG Publishing (The Hindu Group – Media); Manjunath Prasad, Head IT, TVS Mobility Private Limited; Arnab Sarkar, CoFounder & COO, eFundz; Suman Chandrra Dhathi, Assistant Vice President-Sales, Techno Digital, led by Balaka Baruah Aggarwal, Consulting Editor, Tech Disruptor Media as the discussion focused on how AI-ready data centres are becoming central to enterprise intelligence and operational scalability.
The dialogue on cloud adoption continued with the third panel, “Cloud as an Ongoing Journey, Not a Destination,” featuring Bala Kumar MN, Head IT, UCAL; V. Krishnaswami, CTO, Aptus Value Housing Finance India Limited; NV Yogesh Gupta, CTO, Bijlipay; AN Srinivasan, Vice President – IT, SRF Ltd; Dr. Dinesh Durai, Chief Digital & Security Officer, Ideassion Technology Solutions; and Sivarajan Napoleon, CTO, TechnoTryst Web Solutions.
Moderated by Balaka Baruah Aggarwal, the panel highlighted the need for continuous cloud optimisation aligned with business goals rather than one-time migration strategies.
Cybersecurity took centre stage in the fourth panel discussion, “AI-Powered Cybersecurity: Security in an Era of Intelligent Threats,” with insights from Srinivasan Balraj, Vice President & National Head of Information Security, Muthoot FinCorp Ltd; Saravanakumar Krishnamurthy, CISO, Vivriti Capital; Umashankar Nedunchezhian, CTO, TJ Finance; and Dr. Siraj Rahim, CISO, MRF.
The session was moderated by Arnab Sarkar, Co-Founder & COO, eFundz, and explored how AI is redefining both attack surfaces and defensive strategies.
A fireside chat titled “Financial Inclusion Meets Digital Velocity – Inside the working of a FinTech” featured Balaji TK, AVP – IT, Flexi Loans, in conversation with Balaka Baruah Aggarwal, Consulting Editor, Tech Disruptor Media, offering a candid look into large-scale digital transformation within financial services.
The discussion focused on how digital was empowering to focus on customers who cannot give bank guarantees, specifically MSMEs, traders and retailers and provided insights on how digital is enabling to support a revolving credit business model to provide MSMEs with a pre-approved, flexible borrowing limit.
The forum concluded with a closing address by Dr. Ashish Srivastava, Founder & Director, Bharat Network Group, who thanked participants, partners and speakers for contributing to a day of insightful discussions and reaffirmed the group’s commitment to advancing enterprise technology conversations across India.
The event also hosted the TechVerse Vision Awards 2026, recognising organisations and leaders driving meaningful impact through technology innovation. The list includes,
| Category | Winner Name |
| Digital Transformation Evangelist of the Year | Silambarasan Krishnan, Enterprise Architect Head, C-KINETICS |
| Cybersecurity Leader of the Year | Srinivasan Balraj, VP – Head of Information Security Audit and Compliance Muthoot Fincorp Ltd |
| Technology Leader of the Year | Dr Dinesh Durai, Chief Digital Officer, Ideassion Technology Solutions |
| Technology Leader of the Year | Santhosh TG, Global Chief Digital Officer, Switch Mobility |
| Technology Leader of the Year | Dr. Siraj Rahim, Head of OT & CISO, MRF |
| Cybersecurity Leader of the Year | Santhosh Kumar, Head of IT & CISO, India Japan Lighting Pvt Ltd |
| Diversity & Inclusion Champion of the Year | P Kalyana Chakravarthy, Vice President – Technology, GRT Jewellers India Pvt Ltd |
| Cybersecurity Leader of the Year | Saravanakumar Krishnamurthy, CISO, Vivriti Capital |
| Tech Visionary of the Year | Srinivasulu Thayam, CTO, Aravind Eye Care |
| Cloud Security Excellence Award | Manjunath Prasad, Head IT, TVS Mobility Private Limited |
| Tech Visionary of the Year | Krishnaswamy VV, CTO, Aptus Value Housing Finance |
| FinTech Innovation of the Year | Epimoney Pvt Ltd (FlexiLoans) |
| Outstanding Contribution to Cyber Resilience | Senthilkumar Ramalingam, Head IT, InfraPon Pure Chemical India Private Limited |
| Best IT Innovation Project of the Yea | The Hindu Group of Publications |
| Digital Transformation Evangelist of the Year | Ganesh Joshi, CIO & AVP IT, Nilons Enterprises Pvt.Ltd. |
| Cybersecurity Leader of the Year | Aravind Gnanabaskaran, Head – Cybersecurity Practice, Expleo Solutions Limited |
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