Sridhar Vembu, who started Zoho Corporation, has stepped down from being the CEO. He will now take on a new job as the firm’s chief scientist. In a message on the X platform, Vembu said he will focus on research and development and his wish for rural growth.
Vembu is known as one of the richest people in India, with a worth of $5.85 billion in 2022. He got the Padma Shri award in 2021. He shared that he made this choice due to challenges and chances in the fast-changing tech world, especially with new AI tools.
Zoho, which gives software and business services by subscription to firms around the globe, will now have some changes in leaders. Shailesh Kumar Davey, a co-founder, will be the new group CEO. Tony Thomas will manage Zoho’s US teams. Rajesh Ganesan will run ManageEngine, and Mani Vembu will lead the Zoho.com team.
Vembu began as a wireless engineer at Qualcomm in California before starting Zoho in 1996. At first, the company was called AdventNet. In 2009, it changed its aim to give software-as-a-service tools to firms.
In 2019, Vembu moved to Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, where he helps with rural growth work. He stressed that Zoho’s future needs new ideas and that he looks forward to his new role in pushing R&D ahead.
Last year, there were talks that Zoho was looking into making chips and was trying to get support from the government for this plan.
