As Regional CIO for India and APAC, Varun will oversee technology strategy and operations across multiple markets, supporting Bata’s retail, manufacturing, supply chain, warehousing and digital commerce businesses. His responsibilities include driving digital transformation, cybersecurity, operational resilience, enterprise applications, cloud operations, infrastructure, governance, audits, vendor management and technology investments.
His leadership now supports more than 3,500 stores, 18 warehouses and distribution centres, 6 factories and technology teams across India and several APAC markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.
Before taking on the expanded regional mandate, Bansal served as Vice President and Head of IT at Bata India. During his tenure, he played a key role in modernising technology platforms, strengthening operational capabilities and advancing the company’s retail and digital transformation initiatives. His efforts focused on building scalable technology ecosystems to support one of the region’s leading footwear and retail brands.
Prior to joining Bata, Bansal spent nearly 7 years at Philips, where he served as Head of IT for the India Sub-Continent and Lead IT Business Partner for Enabling Functions across Asia Pacific. He led several transformation programmes, including SAP implementations, e-commerce platform deployments, GST and e-invoicing solutions, automation initiatives, robotic process automation projects, customer service improvements and large-scale business transformation programmes.
Earlier, he worked as Senior Manager and Head of IT at Kohler Co., overseeing technology operations for India and Sub-Saharan Africa. He led enterprise-wide initiatives including greenfield SAP implementations, CRM deployments and technology modernisation programmes that supported business growth and operational efficiency.
Before Kohler, Varun spent nearly 5 years with Stryker, where he managed IT strategy, budgeting, infrastructure programmes, application development and digital transformation initiatives for India operations and global teams.
He began his professional career at Infosys Limited, spending more than 5 years building expertise in software development, testing, project management, solution design and client engagement, including work with global clients such as British Telecom.
Bansal holds an MBA through the Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Working Executives programme from Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, combining management education with extensive experience in technology leadership across global organisations.
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