Bengaluru, Karnataka, India — Utthunga has appointed Madhav Vemuri as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), a move aimed at strengthening the company’s leadership as it advances its next phase of global growth. Vemuri brings nearly four decades of leadership experience across industrial automation, operational excellence, digital transformation, enterprise leadership and technology-driven business transformation. Having worked with Utthunga as an advisor over the past two years, he has contributed to shaping the company’s vision, strategic direction and business alignment.
As President and COO, Vemuri will focus on translating Utthunga’s strategy into execution, strengthening operational excellence and building capabilities for sustainable global expansion. His mandate encompasses organizational transformation and value-creation initiatives including export-oriented units, smart sourcing, cost-footprint migration, business process innovation, portfolio management and business prudence, with an emphasis on enterprise resilience and long-term strategic partnerships.
Before joining Utthunga, Vemuri built an extensive leadership career with ABB, spanning nearly three decades across engineering, operations, services, automation and global industry leadership. Most recently, he served as Global Head – Hybrid Industries at ABB, leading the Food & Beverage, Data Centre Automation and Smart Manufacturing businesses globally. In this role, he was responsible for profitable growth strategy, portfolio management, digital disruption and end-to-end value-chain integration across industrial markets. He previously served as Head of Industrial Automation, India & Country Service Manager, where he helped drive service growth of 2.2X, delivering more than $250 million in orders and over 20% EBIT in 2018 through an extended service workforce of approximately 900 professionals.
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Building Operational Infrastructure
Vemuri also served as Managing Director of ABB Global Industries & Services Private Limited, overseeing corporate governance and operational performance across an organization of approximately 2,000 employees covering R&D, software development, engineering and global operations. Earlier, as Head of Global Operations Center – Process Automation, he built the operation from the ground up to approximately 650 professionals, developing organizational structures, engineering capabilities, standardized processes and global execution models. His earlier ABB assignments included Head of Engineering & Operations – Process Industries, Service Manager – Process Industries and Control & Instrumentation Lead for large industrial projects.
Beyond ABB, Vemuri has held a number of transformation, entrepreneurial and advisory positions, including Founder and CEO of RedHelmet Private Limited, Director at Insmart Systems Pvt Ltd, Transformation Advisor at ExactSpace, Director and COO at Ajitha Prodrug India Pvt. Ltd., and Advisor at Billion Lives Business Initiatives. He is also a Member of the Thematic Working Group on Digitalization of Industry and Infrastructures at INPACE. Vemuri began his career with Instrumentation Limited, a Government of India enterprise, in 1987, working on control and instrumentation systems for major steel and industrial projects.
It is reasonable to expect that Utthunga’s global expansion plans will depend heavily on Vemuri’s ability to replicate the operational rigor he established during his time at ABB. The shift from advising a company to leading its daily operations involves managing internal culture alongside external market pressures, and his track record of scaling teams from the ground up suggests he is equipped to handle this transition. The coming quarters will likely reveal whether his experience with hybrid industries can be effectively applied to Utthunga’s specific portfolio of services.
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Company Overview
Utthunga is a product engineering and industrial solutions company that develops industrial-grade digital products and solutions for industrial OEMs, industries, ISVs and service providers. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Bengaluru, the company combines Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) capabilities to support industrial digital transformation and faster product development.
Its capabilities span software, firmware and hardware development, IIoT applications, IT-OT integration, field-device integration, industrial communications, security engineering and testing. Utthunga serves domains including process, factory, power, building and mobility and has a presence in the United States, Germany and Japan, in addition to its headquarters in India.
