Hitachi appoints Anand Birje as CEO digital engineering and AI business

California: A new chapter has begun at Hitachi, with the company handing the digital reins to a seasoned technology leader. Anand Birje has been appointed chief executive of Hitachi’s Digital Engineering and AI Business Unit, bringing together the capabilities of Hitachi Digital, GlobalLogic, Hitachi Digital Services and Hitachi Vantara under a single leadership structure.

Birje announced the appointment on LinkedIn, saying he was “truly humbled and excited” to lead the newly integrated business, which aims to help enterprises accelerate digital transformation through cloud, data, artificial intelligence and engineering expertise.

The executive said the combined organisation is uniquely positioned to support customers across industries by bringing together physical AI and digital AI capabilities, backed by deep sector knowledge and Hitachi’s strengths in IT and operational technology integration.

He highlighted the company’s Lumada 3.0 vision and HMAX platform as central to solving complex industrial transformation challenges through data, cloud and AI. Birje also said he looks forward to working with teams, partners and business units across the world to build “one of the best physical and digital AI transformation companies” while advancing Hitachi’s goal of creating a “harmonized society.”

Welcoming Birje, Hitachi executive vice president and head of digital systems and services Jun Abe described the appointment as “a truly exciting milestone” for the company’s global digital business.

According to Abe, “In my conversations with Anand, I have been deeply impressed by his vision, leadership, and proven ability to drive business transformation at scale.” Abe added that Birje’s experience across cloud, data and AI, coupled with his track record of building high-performing teams, would help accelerate Hitachi’s physical AI strategy and the global expansion of HMAX.

Abe also said the combined strengths of GlobalLogic, Hitachi Digital Services, Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Digital would enable the company to deliver end to end digital transformation while creating greater value for customers worldwide.

The new business unit combines three major Hitachi businesses into a single organisation focused on digital engineering, cloud, data, artificial intelligence, IT-OT integration and physical AI. It will work closely with ecosystem partners including NVIDIA, Google, Microsoft, AWS, OpenAI, Anthropic and ServiceNow to develop industry-specific AI solutions for customers across sectors such as energy, mobility and connected industries.

Birje joins Hitachi after serving as chief executive and board member at Encora between May 2023 and April 2026. During his tenure, the digital engineering services company expanded its global footprint before being acquired by Coforge in one of the largest digital engineering services acquisitions in recent years.

Before Encora, Birje spent nearly two decades at HCL Technologies, where he held several senior leadership positions. As president of digital business services and a member of the executive management team, he oversaw global business strategy, delivery and partnerships across digital consulting, cloud, enterprise applications and data services. During this period, the business reportedly grew from $2.5 billion to $4.2 billion, contributing significantly to HCL Technologies’ overall growth.

Earlier in his career, Birje helped build HCL Technologies’ infrastructure and cloud services business, playing a key role in scaling it from a $50 million operation into a multi-billion-dollar business. He also served on the World Economic Forum’s ICT Global Committee and represented HCL Technologies on the board of Morado Ventures.

An engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai, Birje later completed an executive programme in mergers and acquisitions at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

With enterprises increasingly investing in AI-led transformation and industrial automation, Birje’s appointment signals Hitachi’s intent to strengthen its position in the fast-growing digital engineering market. The company’s unified structure is expected to sharpen its focus on large-scale AI deployments while bringing together engineering, data and industry expertise under one roof.