Google Cloud Appoints Amit Kumar as Interim India Head After Sreedharan’s Exit
Google Cloud appoints Amit Kumar as the interim head of its India business, giving the company a familiar face at the top during a period of change. Kumar, who currently runs the Digital Natives business in the country, will lead Google Cloud India on an interim basis following the departure of Managing Director Sashikumar Sreedharan.
The change was announced on 7 October 2026 by Karan Bajwa, President, Asia Pacific at Google Cloud, in a LinkedIn post. Bajwa said Sreedharan was “moving on from Google to an external opportunity.”
According to media reports, that opportunity is Sarvam AI, the Bengaluru-based generative AI company, where he will serve as President and Chief Business Officer.
The timing is worth noting. Indian businesses are spending heavily on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), and the big cloud providers are competing hard for that work. Any change at the top, even a temporary one, will be closely watched by customers, partners, and rivals.
Who Is Amit Kumar, the Google Cloud Interim India Head?
Kumar is hardly a newcomer. He joined Google Cloud in March 2021 as a Sales Director and was later promoted to Managing Director of the Digital Natives business in India, a role he has held for close to a year. That unit works with fast-growing, cloud-first companies, including many of the country’s best-known startups.
Before Google, Kumar spent more than 13 years at Microsoft across product, enterprise sales and partner roles, including a stint as General Manager for Small and Mid-Market Solutions & Partners.
He also led the software and cloud business for India and South Asia at IBM, and served as Country Sales Manager for Enterprise and Education at Apple India. He started his career at Tata Telecom.
As the Google Cloud interim India head, his immediate task is continuity: keeping customer relationships steady and deals moving while the company settles on a permanent leader.
Google has not said how long the interim arrangement will last, or whether Kumar is in the running for the permanent job.
One point is worth clarifying. Kumar leads Google’s cloud business in India, not Google India as a whole. Readers searching for the new Google India Head should note that the cloud unit has its own leadership, separate from the company’s wider India operations.
Sashikumar Sreedharan Google Cloud Exit: Where He's Headed
Sreedharan spent about three years at Google Cloud. He first served as Chief Operating Officer for the Asia Pacific region for roughly two years, then took over as Managing Director of Google Cloud India in July 2025, succeeding Bikram Singh Bedi. That makes his stint as India MD a short one, at around 15 months.
In his post, Bajwa noted that “Sashi has worn multiple hats in his time with Google Cloud,” thanked him for his contribution and wished him well for his next chapter.
The Sashikumar Sreedharan Google Cloud exit takes him to Sarvam AI, one of India’s most closely watched AI startups.
Sarvam builds large language models and voice AI tools for Indian languages, and is reportedly valued at about $1.5 billion in its latest funding round. As President and CBO, Sreedharan is expected to lead business strategy as the company grows in India and abroad.
Google Cloud Leadership India: What the Change Signals
Bajwa’s message was clearly meant to reassure the market. “Our momentum in India has never been stronger,” he wrote, adding that business and AI growth were accelerating and that “the opportunity ahead for our customers and partners in India has never been bigger.”
The move comes as competition for enterprise AI workloads heats up. Google Cloud is up against AWS and Microsoft Azure, and AI-first companies, many of them the digital natives Kumar has been serving, are among the most sought-after customers in the market. Putting the executive who knows that segment best in charge, even for now, looks like a deliberate choice.
Sreedharan’s move also says something about India’s own AI sector. Homegrown AI startups can now attract senior leaders from global tech firms, something that was far less common only a few years ago.
Leadership Transition at a Glance
Detail | Sashikumar Sreedharan | Amit Kumar |
Role before the change | Managing Director, India (since July 2025) | Managing Director, Digital Natives, India |
Joined Google Cloud | About 2023, as Asia Pacific COO | March 2021, as Sales Director |
Role after the change | President & Chief Business Officer, Sarvam AI (as reported) | Interim India head, Google Cloud |
A Quick Look at Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the cloud computing arm of Google, headquartered in Mountain View, California. Its roots go back to April 2008, when Google launched a preview of App Engine, a platform for building and hosting web apps.
Since then, it has grown into a full enterprise platform spanning infrastructure, data analytics, AI and machine learning, security and workplace tools.
In India, Google Cloud runs cloud regions in Mumbai and Delhi and serves customers in sectors such as banking, healthcare, retail, automobile, manufacturing, media and government.
The Bottom Line
By naming Kumar, Google is choosing continuity over disruption. When Google Cloud appoints Amit Kumar to steer the business, it is betting on someone who already knows the customers, the team, and the startup ecosystem.
The bigger question is who will take the job permanently, and when. Until then, Google Cloud leadership in India rests with an insider, and the focus will be on keeping up the momentum that Bajwa describes as the strongest the company has seen in the country.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
1. Who is the Google Cloud interim India head?
Amit Kumar, who is also Managing Director of Google Cloud’s Digital Natives business in India.
2. Who did Amit Kumar replace?
Sashikumar Sreedharan, who had been Managing Director of Google Cloud India since July 2025.
3. Where is Sashikumar Sreedharan going?
Google said only that he was leaving for “an external opportunity.” Media reports say he is joining Sarvam AI as President and Chief Business Officer.
4. Is Amit Kumar the new Google India Head?
No. He leads Google’s cloud business in India on an interim basis. Google India has separate leadership.
5. Who announced the change?
Karan Bajwa, President, Asia Pacific at Google Cloud, in a LinkedIn post on 7 October 2026.
