Snowflake

Forbes India presents "The Data Circle" in association with Snowflake, is an initiative that showcases top tech leaders in a thought leadership format. The selection process takes a comprehensive approach, considering their influence on both their companies and industries. The pivotal roles of these tech leaders drive innovation and breakthroughs within their respective sectors. These agile and enterprising leaders adeptly strategize to manage critical organisational conditions. The campaign aims to acknowledge and engage these exceptional professionals who are shaping the future.

Murali Brahmadesam, Chief Technology Officer, Razorpay

Shaping The Tech Trajectory

Murali Brahmadesam holds a master’s in computer science from the University of Florida, has made significant contributions to the technology industry and received numerous accolades in his 20-year career.

As founding member of the Aurora database service, he was awarded the prestigious SIGMOD systems award in 2019 for his groundbreaking work in redesigning relational database storage for cloud environments. He was also awarded the Certificate of Merit by the University of Florida in 2001 and 2002. Additionally, he was an honorary member of the Tau Beta Pi association, a national engineering honour society. He holds several patents, including Scalable Lookup Service for Distributed Databases, Backup and Restore Techniques using Bounded Checkpoint and Log Buffers, and Adaptive Database Replication for Database Copies.

As chief technology officer at Razorpay, Brahmadesam is responsible for shaping the company’s technological trajectory and overseeing day-to-day operations. He aims to establish an exceptional engineering team that drives innovation and positions Razorpay as a global leader in the payments industry. By leveraging the OKR [Objectives and Key Results] methodology, organising hackathons, and encouraging open-source contributions, he ensures that his technology team remains at the forefront of industry trends and advancements. Through monthly planning meetings and leadership gatherings, he ensures that everyone is aligned with the company’s objectives. He has established a GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) framework, providing regular employee training sessions on security awareness and ensuring the safety and integrity of the organisation’s technology infrastructure and sensitive data.

Brahmadesam believes in the democratisation of artificial intelligence (AI). In evaluating emerging technologies like generative AI, machine learning and blockchain, he takes a customer-centric approach and aligns technology initiatives with customer requirements. With renowned software engineer David Cutler as inspiration, Brahmadesam is driving Razorpay’s growth, making significant strides in the fintech industry, and empowering his team to achieve their full potential.