Rajesh Kulkarni

Sharpshooter
DISC Type : CD

Chief Information & Digital Officer at Valent North America at Valent U.S.A. LLC

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, United States

Overview

Rajesh is a results-driven CIO and Digital Officer for Fortune 500 manufacturing firms, with expertise in SAP ERP transformations, GenAI, and cybersecurity. A graduate of the University at Buffalos MBA program, he has managed budgets over $100M and teams of up to 500 professionals. People who have worked with him describe him as an enthusiastic leader and excellent negotiator.

Beyond his technical roles, Rajesh is passionate about leadership and developing talent within his teams. His interests include entrepreneurship and innovating solutions to complex business problems. He is recognized by colleagues for being an effective coach and mentor, who inspires his teams to perform at their best and maintains an open-door policy.

He has significant international experience, including an expat CIO assignment in Bonn, Germany, where he managed global IT operations across 22 countries and 35 manufacturing plants.

Personality Overview

Rigorous & Demanding

Fast But Analytical

Thorough Evaluator

They are not focused on building rapport and relationships.  More than the product, they care about the effectiveness of the product. They are very proud of what they do.

Topics They Care About

GenAI Business Cases
He focuses on high-impact, practical GenAI use cases that deliver strong ROI, advocating for starting with small, focused investments to build business confidence.
Global SAP Strategy
He has a long track record of championing and leading large-scale, multi-million dollar SAP ERP implementation programs for global manufacturing firms across dozens of countries.
Adaptive IT Leadership
He has a specific philosophy on leadership, believing that leading IT in mid-sized firms requires more disciplined prioritization and focus than in larger enterprises.

Media Appearances

Rajesh has no verified media appearances

Work History

2022
Chief Information & Digital Officer at Valent North America at Valent U.S.A. LLC
2018 - 2021
Digital and IT CIO Consulting at PepsiCo at Self Employed
2017 - 2018
Interim Chief Information Officer at Lehigh Hanson ($5.2B) at Self Employed
2015 - 2018
Vice President and CIO at Titan America
2010 - 2014
Global IT CIO (Automotive and Industrial sector - $3B) at Textron

Education

2000 - 2002
Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University at Buffalo School of Management, The State University of New York
2011 - 2011
Executive Leadership Program from Thunderbird School of Global Management

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 18 Location : Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Information & Digital Officer at Valent North America at Valent U.S.A. LLC
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Insights For Selling To Rajesh

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • When negotiating terms, help them build an impression that they are the ones calling the shots
  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship
  • Be respectful but crisp

DONT's

  • Don't try too hard to forge relationships with them
  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet
  • Don’t focus on process and rules, give the impression of being a ‘gets it done’ person

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Rajesh is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Rajesh

  • If they decide not to go ahead, they will say no without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Rajesh move?

  • They can take decisions very fast if you manage to convince them.
  • Can Rajesh take some risk or not?

  • The risks don’t matter much to them.

You And Rajesh

Personality Compatibility


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