In his new role, Basu is responsible for both running and transforming IT, identifying opportunities for innovation, mitigating enterprise technology risks, and enabling best-in-class digital services that support leadership decision-making. Outlining his priorities, Basu says, “My focus is on taking a value-first approach while maintaining strong governance rigor. Technology investments must translate into measurable business outcomes.”
In the near term, his agenda includes delivering quick ROI-driven initiatives while ensuring stability, security, and compliance across the IT landscape. “Large transformation succeeds only when there is visible early impact. We believe in starting small, applying design thinking, testing solutions early, learning fast, and scaling what works,” he notes.
Over the long term, Basu aims to position IT as a trusted strategic partner and change driver for ITC’s corporate functions. “The aspiration is for IT to move beyond enablement and actively shape business outcomes through data-driven insights and reliable digital platforms,” he adds.
Prior to joining ITC, Basu spent over three years as Chief Technology Officer at National Insurance Company, where he led a comprehensive modernization of the insurer’s technology landscape. His work spanned IT roadmap and architecture definition, legacy system refresh, core insurance modernization, hybrid cloud adoption, development of a super mobile app, and the deployment of AI and advanced analytics.Reflecting on his experience, Basu says, “At National Insurance, we demonstrated that deep technology transformation is possible even in highly regulated, legacy-heavy environments. Building credibility with boards and auditors was as critical as delivering technology outcomes.”
He carries forward key leadership principles centered on standardization, building data trust, and uncompromising security. Explaining his move, Basu concludes, “The Corporate CIO role at ITC sits at the intersection of governance, data, risk, and leadership decision-making, offering a unique opportunity to scale transformation impact across a diversified Indian conglomerate.”
(With inputs from Diksha Negi).
