Ajit Jagtap

CIO at MODE Global

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

I am currently a Chief Information Officer for MODE Global, which is approximately $3B, multi-brand, 3PL platform. It is the largest non-asset intermodal provider. We believe there is no logistics challenge we can’t solve with our expertise and professionals, as well as with our reliable and scalable service that is built around the industry needs.

For over 20 years, as a transformative, customer-centric, growth-focused and “business-first” executive leader, I have helped delivering tangible business results through developing multi-year systems/business strategy. That has resulted in the implementation of value-driven technical solutions with a solid track record of success, driving operational excellence and market expansion across diverse spectrum of industry sectors.  

With the ability to astutely manage IT strategy and operations, and keen aptitude for reviewing existing eco-systems; I am able to identify and seize opportunities to create efficiencies, reduce overhead, and improve overall customer experience; that has led to successful transformations of many complex systems and processes in several departments across various industry segments. 

What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?

I have always been around technology, after graduating from college, I started my career in a company that built industrial electronic equipment and control panels. Due to the need of the job, desire to learn new things and always eager to roll up the sleeves; I shifted to software development. Curious to learn the impacts of things we build on the organization; led me to take active interest in business processes and understanding of business itself. This curiosity and affinity to understand the business impacts in terms of growth, value creation, customer service, user experience, and cost impacts has helped me immensely to contribute meaningfully and grow as a business-centric IT leader.

I am in the technology field for more than two decades and have held several senior-level positions in IT. These opportunities taught me to quickly acclimate, navigate, and be successful in dynamic work environments. I have been lucky to use these opportunities to shape the business, help the customers, contribute to the overall growth of IT portfolios and nurture future IT leaders. Due to my business acumen and in-depth knowledge of the business, in addition to my IT responsibilities I was trusted to directly manage and transform non-IT departments like the credit and collections. All these experiences and learnings have resulted in becoming a CIO as a logical and natural extension of my professional growth.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

No, it was not always my vision to be a CIO. My vision was to be the responsible advocate of the tech community, be a trusted advisor, be the influencer, an innovator, a critical thinker, a strategist, a solution provider, and a mentor.

It wasn’t until I realized that leveraging my unique abilities to strategize, think critically, influence change and manage large-scale organizational transformations, I can improve the people, process, and technology in the organization and make a positive impact on the business, its stakeholders by influencing the outcomes of the organizations. Couple that with my passion for technology, data-driven decisions, innovation, strategic planning and leadership; I thought the role of CIO will allow me to achieve my vision while being a useful contributor to the business community.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

Yes, I am very fortunate to meet many great mentors in my long tenure, and each of them had a great influence on me and my growth as a leader, even to-date I am in touch with many of them and do not hesitate to draw from their experiences. In addition, I am blessed to have an opportunity to seek help from professional coaches as and when needed. All these mentors have shaped my thinking and more importantly, made me realize that hard skills are important as a technologist, but it is the soft skills that make you a successful leader. I also believe that the process of teaching and learning happens around us all the time, you need to be a keen observer and an astute student to learn from these interactions/ incidences/ situations; that will pave the way for personal enrichment through the experiences of others and of our own.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

CIOs preside on the intersection point of all interdependent processes across the organization. Irrespective of the functional responsibility of any department, IT has a huge role in the success of that department. This also places a technology leader in a unique position to identify opportunities and challenges across the organization. Armed with broader data visibility and unique insights into the inner workings of various departments; the technology leader is and increasingly will be expected to play a key role in formulating the entire organization’s strategy. Technology is and for considerable future will be a growth vehicle of any organization; as head of such an important portfolio; technology leaders are expected to help organizations to quickly navigate through the dynamic business environment, provide tools to assist organizations with predictive/ prescriptive analysis, build customer-centric technology to provide competitive advantage and stay ahead of the innovation curve.  

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

The future leaders of technology will be expected to have high business acumen, strong entrepreneurial instincts, a passion for innovation, and be very tech-savvy. It is necessary for the technology leader to evolve with emerging technologies and be aware of the latest trends in the industry. 

It is equally important for leaders to be successful communicators verbally and in writing. Too often I have seen many good ideas falter due to inabilities of the leaders to communicate effectively, IT Leaders who will be able to differentiate between value vs cost and be able to articulate the benefits and risks related to technology (or lack thereof) will be very successful. It is necessary for a leader to know how to engage and manage different personalities/expectations.

With millennials and Gen Z making up a major workforce, the future technology leaders are expected to be empathetic with high EQ, environmentally, culturally, and socially aware, DI-minded, with tolerance for diverse ideas/thoughts and excellent people management skills. The ability to identifying the right talent, recruit them and nurturing them would be a big differentiator for the leaders and a key component of their success, after all, it is a “TEAM” that delivers for the leader.

The most underappreciated but highly useful skill technology leaders should possess is the financial acumen with ability to manage the “business of IT”.

How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?

Always be curious and eager to learn new things. I try to keep myself current with trends in technology by enrolling in continuous education programs, peer-group meets, attending seminars/webinars/conferences, reading online publications/ books, requesting product demos on latest industry trends from the vendors, requesting information from the team members on existing tools and technologies used in the organization. Learning does not have to be structured or planned but it must intentional and deliberate.

In addition, I have invested time in upgrading my skills by continuously evolving with technological adaptations (Digital Transformation), project management (PMP) and Business Management (MBA) and honing my financial skills through continuous education and certifications.

What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?

I believe the AI technology will take huge leap and mature to scary levels. Keep an eye on the advancement in RPA, AI/ML, Web3, metaverse, various social engineering apps, cloud computing, quantum computing, cyber security, GenAI to name the few.

“Understand that different folks need different strokes.”

If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?

Be a compassionate servant leader, never hesitate to take hard decisions, own your failures, be generous at giving credit, encourage collaboration, keep an open mind, and be a motivator but most importantly, understand that different folks need different strokes, i.e. “Nothing is more unequal as an equal treatment of unequals” also “Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.”

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

I believe there is a lot that I can offer, I would like to use my knowledge and experience to benefit the organizations I work for and the society in general. I am looking to grow and expand my wings and leave an impactful impression as thought leader in the space. I will continue to seek better and bigger opportunities in various industries.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

This world will be served well with bit more compassion and lot less of divisiveness. I wish for the world with tolerant, inclusive society, respectful of each other irrespective of our differences.

A big thank you to Ajit Jagtap from MODE Global for sharing his journey to date.