As Orienteed continues its global expansion, Chetan Rai has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of its Indian division. Chetan has extensive experience in developing and leading successful tech businesses globally, steering teams from the Americas to the Pacific.
His notable project engagements include providing solutions to the US Department of Defense. He is a serial entrepreneur and has been involved in successful startups both in India and the US.
We sat down with Chetan to talk about his new role and his vision for Orienteed’s expansion to India.
Orienteed: Congratulations on your new role as CEO for Orienteed’s new India division! I’m sure our partners and clients would like to know more about you, so could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
Chetan: Thank you, it’s very exciting to be part of the new leaf of Orienteed’s growth in India as we build our competency in innovation and engineering. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. I have over 26 years of experience in the tech industry and have been part of few start-ups and acquisitions. Part of this experience includes working with various agencies within the US Department of Defense, bringing in infrastructure and security solutions to its warfighter initiatives. Upon moving to India, I continued to devote time to innovations through start-up programs. I am passionate about bringing social change in India and do my bit by participating in community activities through different organizations. I also have a keen interest in sports and I love the outdoors.
Orienteed: Tell us more about your new team, what are the advantages of working in a company like Orienteed?
Chetan: We have a team that understands the customers well and brings great commitment and creativity along with innovation. Orienteed is a company where one can actively contribute to the customer’s growth, while working with different teams from our various international office locations. The flexibility that the company offers in terms of giving & receiving mentorship with the best of the best is what provides immense value to each of its employees, which is otherwise seldom available in small organizations.
Orienteed: How do you see Orienteed India evolving in the next 2 years, and your role in its growth?
Chetan: As we embark on this journey and keep in mind the challenges that the industries are facing, we have a strong growth plan to provide a complete digital transformation service. My focus would be to attract customers who are looking for innovation in commerce and to build an organization with a quality engineering team environment that will carry out this mandate.
Orienteed: What are some of the challenges in the ecommerce industry, and the opportunities for Orienteed and its expansion?
Chetan: Each customer has their own challenges depending on the nature of their business, from how they handle customer returns, maintaining customer loyalty, and meeting the demand for data security. We are well-equipped to address these challenges, by providing effective and precise solutions through our engineering teams.
Orienteed: HCL Commerce is our main expertise, what could we do differently compared to other IT partners when it comes to this technology?
Chetan: Being a compact fluid organization with multiple cultures between India and Europe, we stand in a very unique space of being able to provide comprehensive solutions to our customers as we work together with the different teams. Our flexibility and the domain expertise we possess as a strong technical team give us an edge over others in the industry.
Orienteed: What are the important trends that you see in ecommerce right now?
Chetan: To name a few, I believe there is a more concerted effort to make the shopping experience better through effective chatbot apps and AR applications, and to enhance multi-channel selling. Also, the use of big data to provide a targeted and more personalized experience is something that will bring immense value to the customer.
Orienteed: And for our final question, tell us your life motto!
Chetan: To be sincere in what I do and not to be afraid to think outside the box.
