LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Intel chief supply chain officer who has made the step up to CEO with one of India ’ s biggest businesses
If one needs any proof that the stock of senior supply chain executives is rising , then Dr Randhir Thakur provides it .
In April this year , Thakur was announced as CEO and MD of Tata Electronics , a company that provides electronic solutions to industries including automotive , defence , aerospace , and healthcare . It is a subsidiary of Tata Sons , one of the largest conglomerates in India .
It is a key appointment , and interesting because Thakur has a supply chain pedigree , which is not a discipline that typically has provided a pathway to CEO status . More usually , it is the CIO or COO who tends to fill that role .
Tim Cook at Apple has long been the exception that proves this rule , but now chief supply chain officers are being seen as executives that carry a good deal of strategic weight . And so it is with Thakur .
Prior to joining Tata , Thakur was President of Intel Foundry Services . This is a business unit within Intel Corporation that was announced in March 2021 . It provides chip foundry services , meaning Intel will manufacture chips for other companies . ( This was a significant departure for the company , which historically has produced only chips for use in its own products .)
That in itself was a key strategic appointment , and Thakur put himself in pole position for it thanks to his track record as Intel ’ s Chief Supply Chain Officer , a position he held for three years and five months .
As Intel CSCO , he was responsible for managing the company ’ s external ecosystem across technology , design , manufacturing , and product supply chain . “ It was my job to enable Intel ’ s product life cycle , from research and development to high-volume manufacturing ,” he says .
His team also managed Intel ’ s corporate sourcing and procurement , supply chain operations , as well as worldwide planning and logistics .
“ In this capacity , I was responsible for Intel ’ s multi-billion dollar annual spending with external suppliers and partners ecosystem ,” he says .
He also oversaw a global team of 4,000 employees including engineers , negotiators , data scientists , analysts , program managers , planners , buyers , solution architects , and product supply chain architects .
Prior to Intel , Thakur held leadership and technical positions at Applied Materials and SanDisk Corp , before which he was with STEAG
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