Warburg Pincus and Sequoia-backed Capillary Technologies announced that Sameer Garde, presently a board member and independent director at the artificial intelligence-based cloud-native software-as-a-solution (SaaS) products and solutions provider, will become the Chief Executive Officer taking over from the company’s cofounder Aneesh Reddy.
Cofounder and chief executive Reddy will transition to the role of vice chairman and managing director, the company said in a statement on September 28.
Garde is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta. He started his career with Nestle as an Area Sales Manager in India, and then worked with Whirlpool as a Regional Director for West in India and as a Brand Head in Western Europe. He then moved on to Dell India. In his most recent role, he was the President for Cisco in India. Under his leadership in Cisco, the company's India unit was amongst the fastest growing among countries globally.
“Capillary Technologies is a market leader in the loyalty and engagement space and has been acknowledged by leading industry analysts and Fortune 500 customers globally. I look forward to providing the guidance and vision for this new chapter in Capillary’s story,” said Garde.
This change comes at a time when the B2B SaaS firm has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator SEBI to raise Rs 850 crore through an initial share-sale in December 2021.
“With an impending IPO and aspirations to build Capillary into a world leader in the space, Sameer will contribute towards fulfilling these ambitions by building a company that delivers predictable growth profitably and constantly whilst also exceeding customer and partner expectations,” the company’s statement said.
Founded in 2012 by Aneesh Reddy, Ajay Modani and Krishna Mehra, Capillary Technologies has a presence across the United States, India, Middle East, and Asia, in particular, Southeast Asia.
The SaaS major's AI-based cloud-native software solutions help to develop the loyalty of consumers and partners. It offers end-to-end loyalty programs, and unified, cross-channel strategies that deliver a real-time omnichannel, personalized, and consistent experience for customers.
In 2018, the firm raised $20 million in a new round of funding from private equity firm Warburg Pincus, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and existing investors. Last year, it acquired US-based customer experience firm Persuade in an undisclosed cash and stock deal as it looks to finally make its foray into the North American market.
“We became one of the first SaaS companies in India to penetrate not only India but the wider Asian market, and also had the privilege to serve some of the largest customers globally, attracting marque investors along the way,” said Reddy.
