Digital
Riddhi Adlakha takes charge of Nestlé’s marketing and sales technology across Asia, Oceania and Africa
MUMBAI: Riddhi Adlakha has joined Nestlé as region head for marketing, sales and e-commerce IT across Asia, Oceania and Africa, swapping an 11-year career at Tata Consultancy Services for one of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers.
The appointment, which began in November, sees Adlakha overseeing technology operations for marketing and sales functions across Nestlé’s most geographically diverse region. She spent the final 16 months of her TCS tenure as managing partner for digital, having previously served four years as global head of digital marketing.
Before that senior role, Adlakha climbed through TCS’s digital marketing ranks, leading strategic initiatives for retail clients and heading digital marketing for sectors including consumer packaged goods, travel, transport, hospitality and government. She joined the consulting giant in 2014 as a digital strategy consultant.
Her earlier career included a five-year stint at Accenture, where she rose to general manager of digital marketing operations, and roles at Blueocean Market Intelligence, Respondez and Aptech.
The move signals Nestlé’s continued investment in digital commerce capabilities as consumer brands race to capture online shopping growth across emerging markets. For Adlakha, it’s a chance to swap consulting playbooks for operational impact—and to do it across 120-plus countries at once.
Digital
OpenAI’s Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele exits with two senior leaders
Trio behind compute push set to join new startup amid leadership reshuffle
SAN FRANCISCO: Peter Hoeschele, a key figure behind OpenAI’s early Stargate data centre initiative, has exited the company, according to a report by The Information.
The departure is part of a broader leadership shift, with two other senior executives, Shamez Hemani and Anuj Saharan, also set to leave in the coming days. All three are expected to join the same new startup, although details about the venture remain under wraps.
The trio played a central role in OpenAI’s Stargate effort, an initiative aimed at building large-scale data centre capacity in-house to reduce reliance on external infrastructure providers. Their exits mark a notable moment for the company’s compute strategy as it continues to scale rapidly.
OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to The Information, “We’re grateful for the contributions Peter, Shamez, and Anuj have made to OpenAI and wish them the very best in what comes next.” The company also pointed to the recent appointment of Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute organisation, signalling continuity in its infrastructure roadmap.
OpenAI has indicated that it does not plan to directly replace Hoeschele’s role, suggesting a possible restructuring of responsibilities within the team.
As competition intensifies in the race to build next-generation AI systems, leadership changes in core infrastructure teams are likely to draw close attention. For now, the spotlight shifts to what this departing trio builds next, and how OpenAI adapts as it scales its ambitions.
