Seelan Nayagam takes over as Asia Pacific CEO of NTT Data
Former DXC A/NZ managing director Seelan Nayagam has taken over as NTT Data’s new chief executive for the Asia Pacific. He steps into the shoes of John Lombard.
Previously based out of Sydney, Nayagam served as DXC and its predecessor CSC’s local boss for more than a decade to 2023, before then being elevated to president of the consultancy’s business in the Asia Pacific and later Middle East and Africa as well.
Recently replaced in that Asia Pacific role by Rob Le Busque, Nayagam now takes up the challenge at NTT Data as regional CEO, with Lombard, the former head of Crowe in Australia and a managing director at KPMG, moving on after almost a decade.
“Seelan’s executive leadership and wealth of experience in driving digital transformation comes at a pivotal time as we partner with our clients to deliver solutions for their transformation journeys in the era of AI,” said NTT Data’s global CEO Abhijit Dubey, who joined the Japanese technology & telecom giant in 2021 prior to its reorganisation after spending over two decades at McKinsey.
Dubey continued; “Seelan’s strong track record in delivering profitable growth through strategic client initiatives will play a key role in accelerating our growth and innovation across the Asia Pacific region, and we’re delighted to welcome him to NTT Data as we deliver on our mission to accelerate client success and positively impact society through responsible innovation.”
Prior to joining CSC and then DXC Technology (now just DXC after a recent rebrand and advisory restructure) upon its formation in 2017 following a merger with Hewlett Packard’s enterprise services division, Nayagam spent over a decade in senior roles at IBM out of Sydney, including as vice president of Global Business Services (now IBM Consulting) for growth markets.
“I’m very excited to be joining NTT Data,” Nayagam said. “The company is going through an incredible transformation to lead in the AI era, and it will be an honour to head the APAC team and further drive client success and sustainable growth across the region. I cannot wait to get started, meet our clients and colleagues, and help drive the next era of digital and AI transformation.”
Nayagam replaces Lombard on the current top-level tech consulting merry-go-round, with Lombard yet to name his next destination after running NTT in the Asia Pacific for around the past decade, joining the now $30 billion-plus revenue-generating firm in 2016 on the back of heading Crowe Horwath for two and a half years and spending eight at SAP following time at KPMG.
