Harshad Prabhakar Sawant

Trailblazer
DISC Type : DI

Director & Head - Global Cybersecurity Engineering & Global BISO - IT Infrastructure & Cloud at PepsiCo

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Overview

Harshad is the Director and Global Head of Cybersecurity Engineering at PepsiCo, leading a global team with an $80 million budget. He is an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus with expertise in large-scale digital transformations, cloud migration, and infrastructure management. Colleagues describe him as decisive, action-oriented, and an effective leader.

He is a reflective leader who often shares his thoughts on career development, motivation, and professional responsibility. Harshad emphasizes moving away from fragmented execution towards cohesive, durable operating models that scale with the enterprise, indicating a deep interest in strategic and intentional team building.

Unique fact: He holds a strong belief that leaders do not have the luxury of getting tired, viewing it not as a matter of motivation but of fundamental responsibility.

Personality Overview

Values Relationships

Informal

Achievement-Oriented

They are more likely to be open to unproven but exciting technologies.  They like to keep things under control. If they come to believe in your value proposition, they will be your champion.

Topics They Care About

Cybersecurity Strategy
Leads a global cybersecurity portfolio at PepsiCo with an annual budget of $80 million, focusing on cloud, network, endpoint, and data security.
Cloud Transformation
Has extensive experience driving cloud engineering, security, compliance, and data protection strategies at both PepsiCo and Franklin Templeton Investments.
Leadership Philosophy
Frequently posts about leadership principles, emphasizing responsibility over motivation and the importance of understanding team sentiment to drive effectiveness.

Media Appearances

Harshad has no verified media appearances

Work History

3-2023
Director & Head - Global Cybersecurity Engineering & Global BISO - IT Infrastructure & Cloud at PepsiCo
5-2021 - 2-2023
Associate Director | Head - Global Cloud Services & Security at PepsiCo
11-2018 - 5-2021
IT Manager(M3/Level 3)-Hybrid Cloud Engineering at Franklin Templeton Investments
12-2013 - 11-2018
Manager,IT Strategy & Technology Office at CA Technologies
12-2009 - 11-2013
Platform System Administrator at BMC Software

Education

2020 - 2021
Executive MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
1-2024 - 1-2024
Business Storytelling and Executive Presence Programme from Indian School of Business

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 19 Location : Hyderabad, Telangana, India Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director & Head - Global Cybersecurity Engineering & Global BISO - IT Infrastructure & Cloud at PepsiCo
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Insights For Selling To Harshad Prabhakar

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use phrases like ‘your decision will’, ‘you will impact’ etc.
  • Talk about yourself and some of your achievements at the start of the conversation
  • Ask them for a lunch or coffee once some rapport has been established

DONT's

  • Don’t hesitate from asking questions or pushing them, but take a friendly approach
  • Do not look like someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about
  • Don’t force involvement of other stakeholders unless it is critical

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Harshad Prabhakar is

  • Relationship and product conviction matter equally, followed by a sense of achievement.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Harshad Prabhakar

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no albeit in a friendly manner.


Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Harshad Prabhakar move?

  • If you earn their trust and they develop faith in the product, they can make decisions quickly.
  • Can Harshad Prabhakar take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks if necessary.

You And Harshad Prabhakar

Personality Compatibility


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