Indian-origin executive Karthik Narain has been appointed Chief Product and Business Officer at Google Cloud. With over two decades of experience at Accenture leading global cloud initiatives, Narain will oversee product development, go-to-market strategy, and business growth, strengthening Google Cloud’s global competitiveness in enterprise technology and AI-driven transformation.
Indian-origin executive Karthik Narain has been appointed Chief Product and Business Officer at Google Cloud. With over two decades of experience at Accenture leading global cloud initiatives, Narain will oversee product development, go-to-market strategy, and business growth, strengthening Google Cloud’s global competitiveness in enterprise technology and AI-driven transformation.
Indian-origin executive Karthik Narain has been appointed as Chief Product and Business Officer at Google Cloud, marking another milestone in the growing influence of Indian leaders across the global technology landscape. His appointment reinforces Google Cloud’s focus on innovation, enterprise growth, and AI-driven transformation as the company continues to compete in one of the most dynamic sectors of the digital economy.
With more than two decades of experience in cloud transformation, artificial intelligence, and digital strategy, Narain’s career has been defined by building large-scale technology ecosystems and helping enterprises navigate the digital shift. Beginning his professional journey in India, Narain rose through leadership ranks at Accenture, where he spearheaded global cloud initiatives and played a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s digital and technology consulting offerings.
At Google Cloud, Narain will oversee product development, go-to-market strategy, and global business expansion—responsibilities that place him at the center of the company’s mission to redefine how businesses leverage cloud and AI technologies. His appointment comes at a time when Google Cloud is scaling aggressively to challenge competitors like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure in the enterprise cloud space.
Industry watchers say Narain’s arrival signals Google’s intent to blend technical depth with business execution. His background in managing global teams and driving cloud transformations across sectors—from finance and healthcare to manufacturing and retail—aligns well with Google Cloud’s evolving priorities. As enterprises worldwide accelerate AI adoption, his leadership could help Google build stronger connections between its AI research, product portfolio, and real-world business applications.
Under the leadership of CEO Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud has expanded its footprint across key verticals and regions, doubling down on strategic partnerships and multi-cloud solutions. Narain’s entry into the leadership team complements this trajectory, strengthening Google Cloud’s positioning not just as an infrastructure provider but as a strategic partner for enterprise innovation.
The timing of Narain’s appointment also reflects a broader global trend: the growing influence of Indian-origin executives in shaping the technology industry’s future. From Sundar Pichai at Google to Satya Nadella at Microsoft and Arvind Krishna at IBM, Indian leaders have come to occupy pivotal roles in steering the world’s largest tech corporations through the next wave of digital transformation. Narain’s addition to this list underscores how deep India’s technology talent pool runs—and how its global impact continues to expand.
Colleagues describe Narain as a strategic thinker with a strong grounding in both technology and business value creation. His focus on customer-centric transformation has helped enterprises rethink operations, leverage data intelligently, and modernize legacy systems for agility and resilience. At Accenture, he was instrumental in building partnerships with major cloud players, including Google Cloud itself—a collaboration that now comes full circle.
In his new role, Narain will likely lead efforts to integrate Google’s AI models and cloud infrastructure into cohesive enterprise solutions, supporting the company’s push to make generative AI a core part of business operations worldwide. With enterprises increasingly looking to harness large language models, data analytics, and automation, Google Cloud’s success depends on leadership that can translate cutting-edge technology into measurable business outcomes.
As digital transformation becomes synonymous with competitiveness, the cloud is no longer just about data storage or computing power—it’s about intelligence, integration, and innovation. Narain’s experience across these dimensions positions him to steer Google Cloud’s product and business strategy in a direction that captures both scale and sophistication.
His appointment also has symbolic resonance for the Indian technology community, especially for professionals who began their careers in India’s rapidly evolving IT ecosystem. Narain’s rise from India’s technology corridors to a global leadership position highlights the international recognition of Indian expertise in cloud and AI innovation.
For Google Cloud, the coming months will be critical. As businesses increasingly demand hybrid and multi-cloud flexibility, data security, and AI-enabled insights, competition in the cloud market is intensifying. Analysts believe that Narain’s blend of consulting expertise and operational leadership could help Google better align its technical innovation with enterprise needs—a balance that will determine success in this high-stakes race.
While Google Cloud continues to expand its enterprise offerings, its long-term challenge remains differentiation. Narain’s mandate will involve ensuring that the company’s AI and cloud technologies not only deliver performance but also deliver purpose—helping organizations adapt to a rapidly changing world where technology decisions are deeply intertwined with business strategy.
As he takes on his new role, Karthik Narain stands at the intersection of technology, leadership, and transformation. His journey from India to the global stage mirrors the trajectory of the industry itself—one defined by curiosity, collaboration, and a constant drive to innovate.
With Narain joining Google Cloud’s top ranks, the company gains not just a leader, but a visionary equipped to guide the next phase of its evolution—where the future of business is written in the language of cloud and powered by the intelligence of AI
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