Saumya Das
President | Chief AI Strategist | Chief Growth Officer
Enterprise Sales Leader, AI Strategist and Growth Executive with 25+ years of experience leading enterprise sales, go-to-market strategy, business transformation, and AI commercialization, generating more than $2B in AI and cloud revenue. Proven operator with a track record of scaling businesses, expanding enterprise markets, building strategic partnerships, and translating complex technologies into compelling business propositions that drive revenue and measurable business outcomes.
Trusted advisor to CxOs, combining deep technical accumen with commercial leadership, executive storytelling, strategic foresight, and disciplined execution to win complex enterprise business and accelerate growth. Recognized for scaling SaaS businesses to $1.6B ARR, driving Fortune 100 AI adoption, leading high-impact growth strategies, and forging $500M+ strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Salesforce.
Passionate about commercializing AI and Agentic AI to accelerate enterprise growth, create measurable business outcomes, enable bold innovation, and build sustainable, high-value businesses.
+1 (412) 498-5640 | saumya@awahventures.com
Experience
Jan 2021 - Present
President | Chief Revenue Officer
Lead an AI-first venture studio focused on commercializing Agentic AI and GenAI businesses. Advise founders and Fortune 100 executives on go-to-market strategy, product commercialization, strategic partnerships, market expansion, and growth, while building AI ventures designed to create measurable enterprise value.
Oct 2017 - Dec 2020
Chief Growth Officer, General Manager
Built Wipro’s cloud business from the ground up, scaling it to $1.6B in ARR across North America, Europe, and APAC. Increased recurring revenue 94% through AI-first cloud GTM, enterprise growth, and market expansion. Partnered with 40+ C-level executives and boards and built strategic alliances with Microsoft, Amazon, Google, IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce. Led strategic M&A and divestitures including Appirio ($500M) and HealthPlan Services ($460M).
Sep 2015 - Oct 2017
Managing Partner | Head, Global Cloud & AI Sales — Public Sector
Drove IBM’s public-sector Cloud and AI sales business to $600M+ in revenue and $1B+ in strategic wins across federal and healthcare markets. Advised senior government executives on AI, cloud strategy, enterprise modernization, and growth.
Aug 2011 - Aug 2015
Senior Partner | Head, IBM Cloud Sales & GTM — Public Sector
Built IBM Government Cloud from the ground up, scaling it to $240M in annual revenue and a 500+ practitioner organization. Established the GTM model and expanded relationships with federal CIOs and agencies.
Oct 2009 - Jul 2011
Partner | Global Head of Alliances — Public Sector
Generated $70M+ in incremental revenue through strategic alliances with Salesforce, Pega, Oracle, and AWS, expanding IBM’s ecosystem and public-sector growth opportunities.
Jun 2008 - Jun 2011
Associate Partner | Capture Manager
Won and shaped $100M+ enterprise modernization opportunities across public-sector clients, developing capture strategies and relationships with senior government stakeholders.
Aug 2003 - Jun 2008
Capture Manager | Program Manager
Managed complex technology programs for public-sector clients, establishing the enterprise delivery, client management, and solution-development foundation for progressively larger capture and sales responsibilities.
Jan 1999 - Jul 2003
Proposal Manager | Project Manager
Shaped and won complex CRM and contact-center engagements, translating client business needs into differentiated technology solutions and successful enterprise proposals.
Jul 1996 - Dec 1998
Product Lead
Client Relationship & Implementation Head
Built and launched India's first integrated digital insurance platform, capturing 70% of India's general insurance business.
Results
$100M Annual Savings
AI-first CX transformation that increased engagement 46% and customer satisfaction 36%.
$1.7B+ Revenue
AI-on-Cloud pioneer behind IBM Government Cloud.
$70M AI Transformation
Led U.S. Social Security Administration transformation, reducing disability claims adjudication time 13%.
Expertise
GROWTH & TRANSFORMATION
Enterprise Growth & Revenue Strategy
AI & Cloud Commercialization
Go-to-Market Strategy
SaaS & ARR Growth
Global Market Expansion
M&A / Strategic Growth
REVENUE & SALES LEADERSHIP
Enterprise Sales
P&L / EBITDA Management
Strategic Alliances & Partnerships
Pipeline & Forecast Management
Complex Deal Leadership
Business Strategy & Execution
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Meet Saumya
Q & A
Q: Why did you choose your profession?
A: Zeal to transform the lives of people around me that I can reflect on and feel proud of every day when I stand in front of mirror.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: My leadership is based on the principles of FLASH:
Foresight (ability to create and communicate vision)
Lead by example
Accessibility with humbleness and empathy
Shared ownership for success
Honesty
Q: Do you live by any piece of advice or motto?
A: If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: Fostering ideas that can change lives around the world.
Q: What behavior or personality trait do you most attribute to your success, and why?
A: Patience is the biggest virtue I have mastered after working in an evolving and challenging services industry throughout my career. I employ patience, as we look for and await results from my organization’s long-term strategic planning. More importantly, patience comes extremely handy in fostering a sustainable employee culture that drives innovation and willingness to break the glass ceiling.
Q: What is the one thing you need to know about your co-workers?
A: I would love to know if my co-worker can hit the bull’s eye with a DART – Dependable, Accountable, Responsible and Trustworthy.
Q: Who inspires you and why?
A: Ben Franklin was an extraordinary polymath who has inspired me to grow my interests into public service, arts, philosophy and sports beyond the boundaries of science and technology. My zest for forethought and planning in everything I do comes from his advice – “Life is a kind of Chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events.”
Q: What life circumstance has most shaped your world view?
A: Premature birth of my son helped me realize that there are a plethora of problems around the world that are overlooked. God has given us this life to make it more meaningful and impactful.
Q: If you were an action figure, what accessories would you be sold with?
A: Cape – Symbol of hope people can rely on.
Q: If you could be any kitchen appliance, what could you be?
A: Refrigerator – Reliable, trustworthy, patient, and strong.
Testimonials
Alan Heintzelman, Business & IT Executive
Saumya’s strong management skills coupled with his business acumen and “team building” approaches are key to the results achieved. His experience is evident in how he guides the team through the challenges encountered and how he remains calm in the face of chaos. Saumya’s communications skills are also important in keeping everyone focused on the same objectives, in the same manner and sharing in a sense of accomplishment. He demands high quality results from his team and is able to achieve them in a collaborative way while also maintaining high morale. I recognize Saumya as a highly motivated, dedicated, passionate and focused leader. He has the ability to lead diverse and distributed teams through complex business issues and consistently deliver results on schedule. I have seen him as an effective communicator during interaction with clients, with project teams and during sales proposals.
Chris Robinson, Director of NA Strategic Partnerships
Saumya has all of the positive attributes that a customer would want in a Service Industry Executive at IBM Global Services. Saumya is knowledgeable, detail oriented and a pleasure to work with. He is customer focused and delivers what he commits to.
Michael Wang, Director of Solutions Architecture
Saumya is a thought leader for both the Public Sector and CRM. His efforts allowed our practice area within IBM to dramatically grow its business by fostering longlasting relationships with our clients.
Beyond Work
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Exploring opportunities to create growth, lead transformation, and build lasting enterprise value.
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