Sridhar Vembu, Founder of Zoho Corp, has stepped down as CEO and will now serve as Chief Scientist to lead the company’s deep R&D efforts. Vembu, who started Zoho in 1996, will also focus on his rural development initiatives. “A new chapter begins today. With the challenges and opportunities in AI and R&D, I’ve decided to step down as CEO and fully dedicate myself to R&D,” Vembu announced on X.
A new chapter begins today.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 27, 2025
In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission.…
Shailesh Kumar Davey, Co-founder, will take over as Group CEO. Other leadership changes include Tony Thomas managing US operations, Rajesh Ganesan heading the ManageEngine division, and Mani Vembu leading Zoho.com.
Zoho, founded as AdventNet in 1996 and renamed in 2009, is now a global SaaS leader with over 90 million users across 600,000 businesses. In FY23, the Chennai-based company generated ₹9,158 crore in revenue and ₹2,836 crore in net profit. Major clients include TCS, Infosys, and Wipro.
Vembu, honored with the Padma Shri in 2021, holds a PhD from Princeton University and began his career at Qualcomm. Ranked as India’s 39th richest person in 2024, he aims to drive Zoho’s R&D innovation while pursuing his mission to empower rural India.