CEO Insights Magazine

In an organization, while people (manpower) remain at the core, processes, and technologies help drive the business with a proper strategic plan in place. And, it is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) leader who oversees people, processes, and technologies within a company's IT organization to ensure they deliver outcomes that foster the growth of the business. Specifically in this data-driven digital age, as technology is advancing and industries are being reshaped globally, the role of a CIO has evolved and become critically important holding this C-suite personnel responsible to direct the management, implementation, and usability of information and computer technologies.

Atreyapurapu Chitti Babu is one of those leaders who has proficiently spearheaded this specific CIO role at Aurobindo Pharma proficiently. Having held several other leadership roles in his career journey, currently, he is leading the company appointed as its Group CIO. In an in-depth conversation with CEO Insights magazine, Chitti Babu shares with us his professional journey and the various lessons he has gathered along the way. Here are some excerpts from the conversation. Give a brief account of your professional journey.

I am a P.G. in M.Sc(Tech) from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Starting off onmy professional journey with Defence Electronic Research Labs oncampus, I moved to ONGC and served it for almost 10 years overseeing scientific data processing as well as commercial data processing. I am the founder of Computer Centre, ONGC, Rajahmundry. From ONGC, part of my career journey were Oracle, Megasoft, and then Wipro where I was the Head of Oracle Applications for a brief time.

I then moved to the US in 1995, and there I was involved in several implementations & support of Oracle Applications, the right earlier versions. Later it was in 2000, moving back to India I joined OSI Consulting (now OSI Digital), headed the Enterprise Applications practice for five years, and then became a

freelancer. I had first joined Aurobindo Pharma in 2002 as its CIO and later rejoined in 2022.

At present, I hold the Group CIO position at Aurobindo Pharma. Besides, earlier having held the Director position at Oracle Applications and Technology Users Group, India (a non-profit organization, Affiliate of OATUG), I am currently also the Chair for the same, since several years. I look after the liaison with Oracle Development teams in organizing User Group events, design reviews and directions to Oracle Applications Development Teams (On Premise and Cloud).

Tell us about your leadership approach at Aurobindo Pharma.
I believe it is quite dimensional. I plan activities and project for management at the right time and get their concurrence. Proactive planning and execution with team collaboration is my forte and I accomplish it by collaborating with teams in on time deliveries. I build and develop teams internally, thereby talent retention is my other contribution. Further, I also take a step ahead in knowledge sharing and participating in design reviews, and providing directions to meet business expectations.

Define Aurobindo Pharma as an organization and its position in the market.
Founded in 1986 by P. V. Ramprasad Reddy, K. Nityananda Reddy, and a small group of highly committed professionals, Aurobindo Pharma was born out of a vision to become one of the top pharmaceutical companies in India assisting in leading the country in the field of healthcare and pharma. Having commenced its operations in 1988-89 with a single unit manufacturing Semi-Synthetic Penicillin (SSP) at Pondicherry, it is the market leader in Semi-Synthetic Penicillins.

Today, Aurobindo Pharma is acknowledged as one of the top pharmaceutical companies and has a presence in various countries with key expertise in therapeutic segments such as neurosciences, cardiovascular, antiretrovirals, anti-diabetics, gastroenterology, and anti-biotics, among others. It is all credit to the excellent vision from top management that is enabling this organization to be top in the list of the few best pharmaceutical companies in the country.

As the Group CIO, how are you creating business value for Aurobindo Pharma through technology?
Being the Group CIO, I have a lot to do. Several applications are onpremise category and the provision of security is of utmost importance. There are numerous new initiatives on security, and infra

upgrades that have been projected and are being implemented under my leadership. Additionally, moving towards true digitization and subsequently, AI/ML-based solutions is also what we are extensively working towards.

What are the methods you have implemented to foster a learning culture in your team to help draw valuable insights that help the company be on with the latest market standards?
There are many that include sharing knowledge and experience. I also foster collaborative implementation in such a way that internal teams are geared up with the latest and greatest technologies for ongoing support. Directions and guidance are also provided to the teams, right from the inception of an idea to implementation and support.

How do you plan to invest your time in your career moving forward?
Always learn new technologies (at least a high level) and have the thought process to implement these in industries based on business requirements through a cost-effective model.

What is your advice to upcoming leaders while hacking new opportunities?
Learn the latest & greatest technologies (high level), guide and motivate teams in developing & deploying the right solutions to meet business requirements through complete digitization, security, controls and more. Understand the business needs and evaluate & estimate cost-effective solutions, the project to management, and get them implemented by building second line management in all verticals.

Atreyapurapu Chitti Babu, Chief Information Officer, Aurobindo Pharma
Having over 38 years of experience in information systems, he has performed duties as CIO, Sr. Vice President, Vice President, Consulting Lead (Functional Lead), Technical Manager, and Development Manager at various client sites. Academically, he holds a Master’s in Science & Technology from India. In his tenure, he has managed, led, trained, designed, and developed software applications utilizing Oracle, and Oracle Apps (all modules- Financials, Distribution, SCM, Discrete MFG, Process, MFG, and others).

•Hobbies: Learn new technologies, learn, and play music (Keyboard)
•Favorite Cuisine: Vegetarian
•Favorite Travel Destination: The United States
•Awards & Recognition: Accomplishing the first rank/Gold Medalist in the University in Bachelor’s and Master’s