MUMBAI: Samir Dhir will step down as chief executive officer of Sonata Software Ltd, the company said on Saturday, marking the first leadership change at a large firm in over a year.
Dhir, who took over as CEO in April 2022, will be succeeded by Rajsekhar Datta Roy, the company’s chief delivery officer, for a three-year term. Dhir chose not to seek reappointment to focus on personal priorities.
“Having regard to my personal priorities at this time, I have decided not to offer myself for reappointment upon expiration of my term. Accordingly, I also hereby submit my resignation from the position of Executive Director of the Company, with effect from the close of business hours on May 8, 2026 (last working date),” said Dhir in his resignation letter dated 25 April.
Sonata Software ended last year with $1.2 billion in revenue, up 15.46% year-on-year. Roy becomes the fourth chief executive of the company after Sanjay Viswanathan, P Srikar Reddy, and Dhir.
The last leadership change at an Indian IT services company with over $1 billion in annual revenue came at LTIMindtree at the start of 2025, when Venu Lambu took over for a five-year term.
“This is clearly a pre-orchestrated succession, not a firefight, which gives Roy a cleaner runway. But it also raises expectations. When a board executes a smooth handover like this, it signals they want faster, more decisive progress, not continuity for its own sake,”said Phil Fersht, chief executive of HFS Research. “Roy isn’t coming in to stabilize, he’s coming in to accelerate. The pressure will be to convert Sonata’s modernization and AI () narrative into consistent growth, stronger deal momentum, and clearer differentiation in a crowded mid-market.”