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Shankara Rajaier

Shankara Rajaier (Shanks) has 30+ years’ experience in the Application software industry. He joined SVAM in 2019 from HCL America Inc., wherein, as Vice President, he led several strategic initiatives. He managed 3 joint ventures for HCL on BOT/BOA model, 2 large partnerships with IBM and CSC, and many high-value accounts like Lowe’s, Ann Inc, Brightstar, Boots etc. Client Partnership, Consultative Solution Sales, Application Portfolio Transformation, and Global Services Delivery were the key focus areas in these engagements.

The JV with Jones Apparel Group (JAG), an apparel footwear fashion retailer, provided the foundation for the HCL Retail vertical. We did a complete transformation of the IT landscape – from mainframe to Open systems, from legacy applications to SAP/Manhattan WMS/ Siemens UGS PLM, and built several Microsoft based MIS solutions. The JV with COMPUTECH, an Oracle ERP boutique firm in Chicago, was the genesis of HCL Oracle practice, which is 2000+ people strong now. The JV with Deluxe corporation created EFunds, an Electronic Payment systems provider, later bought over by Fidelity.

The partnership with IBM focused on Omni channel retailing, Customer experience management, Distributed Order management using Sterling DOM & WCS, and a full stack SMB eCommerce solution. The partnership with CSC, now part of DXC, focused on Application Modernization – to transform a portfolio into On-Prem and Cloud solutions. For the high-value retail clients like Lowe’s and Ann, we executed several strategic programs – Large QA/Testing CoE, Customer MDM, Integration CoE, SAP retail, Infrastructure support, and IT Helpdesk. Prior to joining HCL, Shanks managed the operations of a software company in UAE and built 42 clients in the Middle east for an Oracle-based custom ERP solution. Prior to that, Shanks managed the Financial Systems Group for Wipro Ltd, and created partnerships with several banks in India; many banking solutions were developed here.

Shanks is married and lives in Edison, NJ. His spouse, Dr. Nirmala Shankar, is a Chemistry lecturer at Rutgers University. We have 2 daughters, both married and settled in USA. Shanks enjoys reading, travel, yoga, and mentoring, and is active in social/charity activities such as Santosh Charity, Kiva.org, Rakum School for blind, Cauvery Calling, Solar Power etc.