Puru Balakrishnan

CTO

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India32 yrs 1 mo experience
AI EnabledAI ML Practitioner

Key Highlights

  • Led engineering strategy for billion-record MDM platform.
  • Built AI/ML capabilities from the ground up.
  • Transformed engineering culture to product ownership.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a SaaS expert with extensive experience in enterprise data management and engineering leadership.

Contact

LinkedIn

Skills

Core Skills

Ai & Data Platform StrategyMulti-domain Mdm & Enterprise Data GovernanceReal-time Data Streaming & IntegrationCloud-native Architecture & Distributed SystemsEnterprise Data Security & GovernanceEnterprise Data Integration & Management

Other Skills

Artificial Intelligence (AI)SaaS DevelopmentEngineering LeadershipMachine LearningDigital TransformationAgile MethodologiesSOACloud ComputingEnterprise ArchitectureEnterprise SoftwareJava Enterprise EditionSoftware Project ManagementJavaSoftware DesignSQL

About

I build things that scale — platforms, teams, and engineering cultures. Over a 30+ year career spanning Oracle, Informatica, Protegrity, AntWorks, Infoworks, Striim, and now Reltio, I have led engineering organizations through some of the most demanding transformations in enterprise technology — from real-time data streaming and cloud-native platform engineering to AI/ML systems and multi-domain Master Data Management at billions-of-records scale. As Vice President of Engineering and India Site Head at Reltio, I lead engineering strategy and delivery for a cloud-native multi-domain MDM platform purpose-built to unify and govern enterprise master data at global scale. I have built AI/ML capabilities from the ground up and led the development of agentic AI platforms that bring intelligent, autonomous workflows to complex data ecosystems. My leadership focus has always been at the intersection of technology strategy and business outcomes — translating enterprise growth ambitions into platform innovation, scaling globally distributed engineering organizations, and driving the shift from services-led delivery to product-centric, ownership-driven engineering cultures. Across my career I have worked at the forefront of real-time data integration, cloud-native architecture, enterprise data security and governance, and large-scale platform engineering — building and leading teams across India, the United States, and Europe. What drives me is the craft of engineering leadership itself: building high-trust, high-performance teams, growing the next generation of technology leaders, and creating engineering environments where great people do the best work of their careers. Core focus areas: 🔹 AI & Data Platform Strategy 🔹 Multi-Domain MDM & Enterprise Data Governance 🔹 Cloud-Native Architecture & Distributed Systems 🔹 Real-Time Data Streaming & Integration 🔹 Global Engineering Leadership & Org Scaling 🔹 Product Engineering & Platform Strategy

Experience

32 yrs 1 mo
Total Experience
3 yrs 7 mos
Average Tenure
2 yrs 11 mos
Current Experience

Reltio

Vice President Engineering and Head of India Operations

May 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 11 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

  • Leading engineering strategy and India operations for a cloud-native multi-domain MDM platform managing billions of enterprise master data entities across hundreds of data sources and global enterprise customers.
  • Scaled the India engineering organization 3x — to accelerate product roadmap delivery and support global expansion
  • Built AI/ML and agentic AI engineering capability from the ground up, spanning talent acquisition, platform architecture, and end-to-end product delivery
  • Drove full transformation from outsourced delivery model to product ownership culture — embedding accountability, execution rigor, and engineering quality across all teams
  • Led strategic integrations with Databricks and Microsoft Fabric, extending the platform's analytics ecosystem and expanding addressable enterprise use cases
  • Established enterprise-wide quality governance and engineering execution frameworks, reducing delivery risk and improving release predictability across global teams
Artificial Intelligence (AI)SaaS DevelopmentEngineering LeadershipMachine LearningDigital TransformationAI & Data Platform Strategy+1

Striim

Vice President Of Product Development

Sep 2021 – Apr 2023 · 1 yr 7 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

  • Led product engineering for a real-time data streaming and integration platform processing billions of events daily with sub-second latency across mission-critical enterprise deployments.
  • Defined and executed enterprise application integration strategy, establishing Striim's position as a differentiated player in the real-time data integration and streaming analytics market
  • Transformed QA from a manual testing function into an automation-first, metrics-driven engineering discipline — improving release velocity, defect detection rates, and production reliability
  • Drove measurable improvements in platform quality and customer-facing reliability, directly contributing to improved enterprise customer retention and renewal outcomes
SaaS DevelopmentEngineering LeadershipDigital TransformationReal-Time Data Streaming & Integration

Infoworks.io

Managing Director, India and VP Engineering

Mar 2020 – Aug 2021 · 1 yr 5 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

  • Led India operations and engineering delivery for a cloud-native data orchestration and automation platform built on Hadoop and Databricks, holding dual accountability as Managing Director and VP Engineering.
  • Led a 60-member engineering organization spanning development, QA, and DevOps — driving end-to-end product delivery across the full engineering lifecycle
  • Maintained uninterrupted product delivery and zero attrition through the COVID-19 disruption, demonstrating organizational resilience through rapid transition to fully distributed engineering operations
  • Held full site leadership accountability as Managing Director — owning India P&L, people operations, facilities, vendor management, and administrative functions alongside engineering delivery
SaaS DevelopmentEngineering LeadershipDigital TransformationCloud-Native Architecture & Distributed Systems

Protegrity

Head of Engineering and Vice President, R&D

Mar 2019 – Feb 2020 · 11 mos · Bengaluru Area, India

  • Led the global engineering organization for an enterprise data security and privacy platform protecting sensitive data at scale for Fortune 1000 clients across financial services, healthcare, retail, and other regulated industries.
  • Led a 200+ member global engineering organization across India, the United States, and Europe — one of the largest engineering organizations in the enterprise data security space
  • Owned full product delivery accountability — spanning engineering, QA, technical documentation, and program management — driving end-to-end lifecycle execution from roadmap to production
Engineering LeadershipDigital TransformationEnterprise Data Security & Governance

Informatica

Vice President Product Development

Mar 2005 – Oct 2018 · 13 yrs 7 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

  • Held a 13-year progressive leadership tenure at Informatica — a global leader in enterprise data integration and management — rising to Vice President of R&D with ownership of the company's connector platform strategy and engineering delivery.
  • Owned end-to-end strategy and delivery of a 300+ enterprise connector portfolio across PowerCenter, Big Data Edition, and Informatica Cloud — one of the broadest integration ecosystems in the enterprise data management market
  • Architected and delivered a unified Connector SDK enabling a single shared codebase across multiple Informatica product lines — adopted by the global partner ecosystem to accelerate third-party connector development at scale
  • Drove enterprise-wide integration coverage across the full modern data stack including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Salesforce, Snowflake, and major ERP platforms — enabling seamless data movement across heterogeneous enterprise environments
  • Built and scaled engineering and QA organizations to deliver enterprise-grade quality, reliability, and velocity across a globally distributed connector portfolio
SaaS DevelopmentEngineering LeadershipDigital TransformationEnterprise Data Integration & Management

Oracle

Principal Member Technical Staff

Jun 2003 – Mar 2005 · 1 yr 9 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Sonim communications

Project Lead

Nov 2002 – Jun 2003 · 7 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Trivium india software

Lead Member Technical Staff

Jun 2000 – Oct 2002 · 2 yrs 4 mos · Bengaluru, India

Symantec

Principal Software Engineer

Jan 1993 – Jan 2000 · 7 yrs · Cupertino, California

Education

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Independent Director Certificate

Nov 2023 – Apr 2024

XLRI Jamshedpur

PGCBM

Jan 2004 – Jan 2005

University of Cincinnati

Jan 1991 – Jan 1993

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Jan 1985 – Jan 1989

JHSS

May 1985 – Present