Deepika Rayala
Chief Digital and Information Officer at Cornerstone
Transforming Digital Landscapes with Vision and Expertise
Deepika Rayala, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Cornerstone, is a leader in digital transformation and technology management. She plays a crucial role, overseeing Digital Transformation across internal platforms, data & analytics, corporate security and IT operations. In her role, she works cross-functionally to align the Digital Roadmap with business priorities.
Leading a team of 200+ members, including business SMEs and implementation partner resources, Deepika and her team design digital architectures and solutions to enhance employee productivity and operational efficiency.
Another notable achievement under her leadership is the rollout of an Enterprise Digital Hub using Generative AI (Azure API) to help improve employee productivity. Cornerstone’s internal Gen AI strategy continues to evolve with a mix of embedded, off-the-shelf and bespoke solutions that meet the needs of the users in a cost-effective way.
Deepika’s most significant challenge has been guiding Cornerstone through a major digital transformation, consolidating six separately acquired companies, each with different CRMs, ERPs, Data Lakes and multiple boundary apps, onto a single ecosystem on a tight timeline. This initiative was not just a technology project, but a transformation project aimed at creating operational efficiencies and a unified business ecosystem. Deepika and her team are now focused on elevating and advancing this journey to reap the rewards of the transformation through further automation and improved user experience.
Celebrating achievements with shared success
Deepika finds immense satisfaction in working through challenges that drive impactful outcomes and require a combination of leadership, strategic and technical skills. The rapid and successful execution of such a large-scale transformation project within a year cannot be done without a great team, both in IT and business alongside the implementation partner.
Programmes like this call for both a high degree of emotional intelligence and technical calibre with a keen eye to connect the dots across end-to-end business processes. She reflects on the challenges as the most rewarding aspects, noting that the transformation has led to standardised analytics and more-automated reporting for all levels of the organisation to facilitate better decision making—a feat unimaginable a year and a half ago.
Industry leadership and community engagement
Beyond Cornerstone, Deepika actively participates in industry panels and forums, discussing strategic IT innovations and the future of digital transformation. As the sponsor of Cornerstone’s women’s CRG group, she runs a motivational chat series titled “Leading with Curiosity, Courage, and Compassion,” to help foster meaningful conversations for women at Cornerstone.
Additionally, she hosts TechBytes webinars for T200 (a non-profit women in technology forum), exploring technology trends and their implications. She is also part of the UCLA@Innovate forum.
Deepika is also committed to community engagement, particularly in promoting STEM education for underrepresented groups.
She mentors and speaks at events aimed at inspiring young women to pursue careers in technology. Through these endeavours, she strives to make a meaningful impact on both the industry and the community, believing that technology can be a force for good.
Deepika Rayala’s career exemplifies visionary leadership and dedication to leveraging technology for transformative change. Her belief in building high performing teams demonstrates a bias for operational excellence. Her contributions to non-profit forums highlight her broader commitment to industry advancement and community upliftment.
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