How Sage is Bolstering its AI Push with its New Exec Hires

Sage is sharpening its top team as it looks to accelerate its AI-led growth strategy.

The finance-centric enterprise software company has appointed Krish Vitaldevara as Chief Product Officer and Anand Swaminathan as Chief Strategy Officer. 

The dual hire shows the business’ renewed focus on product innovation and long-term value creation as the FTSE-listed fintech targets deeper penetration across the global SMB market.

Leadership for an AI-first era

Krish will join Sage’s Executive Leadership Team on 18 May followed by Anand on 15 June, with the pair both based in San Jose, California. 

Their appointments come as Sage continues to position its platform around intelligent, connected financial workflows powered by AI.

Sage’s CEO Steve Hare says: “Krish and Anand are proven leaders with deep experience building and scaling world-class products and businesses. 

“Their appointments reflect our continued investment in innovation and growth and I’m excited about the impact they’ll have for our customers, colleagues and partners.”

As Chief Product Officer, Krish will lead Sage’s global product and platform strategy, overseeing its innovation roadmap and delivery. His remit is to ensure Sage continues to deliver “trusted, intuitive and intelligent AI solutions” at scale.

Krish brings more than 25 years of experience across enterprise technology giants including Salesforce, Google, Microsoft and NetApp. 

Most recently, he served as General Manager and Executive Vice President at Salesforce, where he played a key role following its acquisition of Informatica, leading integration across products and teams.

His background in AI-first platforms and distributed systems aligns closely with Sage’s ambition to embed intelligence across its ecosystem.

 He also holds more than 30 patents spanning trust and safety, anomaly detection and large-scale systems – capabilities increasingly relevant in financial software.

Krish says: “I’m excited to be joining Sage at such an important moment for the business.

“Sage has a unique purpose, a strong customer focus and culture and a compelling opportunity to lead in intelligent, trusted solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team to continue evolving the product portfolio and delivering meaningful impact for customers.”

Driving long-term strategy

Alongside product innovation, Sage is doubling down on strategic execution with the appointment of Anand as Chief Strategy Officer. 

He will oversee corporate strategy, growth priorities and long-term value creation, working closely with the executive team.

Anand joins Sage from McKinsey, where he was a Senior Partner advising global organisations on AI transformation, enterprise strategy and technology-enabled growth. 

His earlier experience at Accenture Digital saw him help scale global capabilities across data, cloud and digital product development.

His blend of advisory and operational experience positions him to guide Sage through its next phase of expansion, particularly as AI reshapes competitive dynamics across financial services and software.

“Sage has a clear strategy and a powerful position in the market," Anand says.

“I’m thrilled to join the business and to help shape the next phase of growth, building on Sage’s strengths and ensuring we continue to create long-term value for customers, colleagues and shareholders.”

Sage’s growth journey

Krish and Anand joining Sage come as the company continues to evolve its core proposition: delivering AI-powered finance, HR and payroll solutions that connect SMB ecosystems. 

By digitalising processes across customers, suppliers, employees and financial institutions, Sage aims to reduce friction and unlock real-time insights.

This platform-centric approach reflects a wider industry trend toward integrated business operating systems, where accounting software becomes the hub for broader financial and operational workflows.