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Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu steps down, takes on the role of chief scientist

Vembu single-handedly built Zoho into a large software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.

Zoho's Sridhar Vembu. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and CEO of Chennai-based cloud services company Zoho, is stepping down after a long tenure as chief executive officer.

Vembu will transition to the role of Chief Scientist, where he will lead Zoho’s deep R&D initiatives and focus on his personal mission for rural development.

“A new chapter begins today. In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best for me to focus full-time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission. I will step down as CEO of Zoho Corp and take on a new role as Chief Scientist, responsible for deep R&D initiatives,” Vembu said in a post on X on Monday.

A new chapter begins today.

In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission.…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 27, 2025

Following the change, co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey will assume the role of Group CEO. Tony Thomas, also a co-founder, will lead Zoho’s US operations. Rajesh Ganesan will head the ManageEngine division, and Mani Vembu will take charge of the Zoho.com division.

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Vembu single-handedly built Zoho into a large software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. Zoho’s cloud suite includes tools for productivity, collaboration, sales, marketing, and back-office accounting. The company competes with Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, and Oracle in the business software market. Zoho has over 100 million users across its 55+ business applications and serves 700,000 customers in more than 150 countries.

After completing his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1989, Vembu earned his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. He began his career as an engineer at Qualcomm in San Diego, US, before founding Zoho in 2005.

Forbes ranked Sridhar Vembu as the 39th richest person in India in 2024, with a net worth of $5.85 billion.

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