Ajit Kumbhare Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Ajit has more than a decade of success helping Fortune 100 clients implement enterprise applications across industries. He currently drives Serene's company strategy and manages day-to-day operations as well as key client relationships. As an executive sponsor, Ajit often works closely with Serene’s teams to ensure the successful development and delivery of the company’s business solutions to clients. Under his leadership, Serene has experienced rapid and sustainable growth in every measurable business and technical area.

Prior to founding Serene, Ajit served in management positions with many industry leaders, including IBM, Siebel Systems, and Patni Computer Systems, where he made significant contributions to those companies’ success in the global marketplace. Ajit has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta.

Niken Patel Executive Vice President

Niken has a stellar 11-year track record in Customer Relationship Management and consulting, helping clients design and deliver successful CRM and IT initiatives. From CRM Roadmap definition and strategy to complex global implementations for Fortune 500 companies, Niken has extensive experience across multiple industries, including High-Tech, Financial Services, Telecom, Media, and Pharma/Bio-Tech. 

With his talent for developing and managing high-performance teams, Niken has been instrumental in building Serene from a 10-person start-up to a successful company with 150 people across the globe. In addition to managing Serene’s CRM and SaaS consulting practices, Niken is responsible for managing Alliances, Pre-Sales, and the Product Management groups.

Prior to Serene, Niken served as a consultant at leading global firms, including Deloitte Consulting and Fujitsu Consulting.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Pune University in Pune, India, and an MBA from the University of Mumbai’s NM Institute of Management Studies.

Vinay Saini VP of Technical Delivery

Vinay leads the efforts for CRM On Premise technical delivery and employee satisfaction at Serene. As one of the first employees, he has helped the company reach its current strength and size by building key relationships with major customers. Vinay’s clear understanding of customer needs and expectations and precise execution of Serene’s deliverables have set a high standard for the entire company.

Vinay has an exceptional ability to keep the team motivated regardless of project deadlines or economic challenges. Consistent and continuous support from the Technical Delivery team gives him a strong foundation for effective management. Through his work ethic, leadership, interpersonal skills, and pursuit of excellence, Vinay has the respect of his team and the entire company.

Prior to joining Serene in December 2003, Vinay was the Senior Siebel Consultant at Cymbal Corporation (now a subsidiary of Patni), where he served as a senior member of the technical team on key accounts. Four years earlier, he started his career at Capital One Services as an IT analyst. Vinay holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.

Venkat “Venky” Subramanian VP of Enterprise Application Integration & Master Data Management

Venky leads our EAI and MDM practice with more than 25 years of consulting experience combined with a broad and deep technical expertise. He has architected elegant and robust business solutions to very complex business problems for many clients. He has also managed global projects of huge proportions for the Big 5 consulting firms.

Venky has exceptional mentoring skills, which he uses to bring client teams rapidly up to speed on new implementations and technologies. With his calm demeanor, he ensures that results exceed expectations and are delivered on time. He is our go-to guy for the answers to the most challenging technical questions.

Prior to joining Serene in December 2006, Venky held senior management positions at Siebel, Bearing Point, Cap Gemini, and other boutique consulting firms. He has also held key positions in almost all functional areas of the aviation industry in India. He holds a PhD in Business Administration from Kent State University, Ohio, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Madras, in India.

Suresh Krishnan Senior Director - Client Relationships & Program Management

Suresh has a proven track record as a senior consultant in Customer Relationship Management and Supply Chain Management. As a project and program manager for over 16 years, he drove diverse enterprise-wide initiatives for industry leaders such as IBM. At Serene, Suresh is responsible for managing client relationships as well as overseeing all aspects of project and program management.

Before joining Serene, Suresh worked at leading consulting firms, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers (now part of IBM) and BearingPoint. He also made valuable contributions to the IT organizations of Countywide Insurance, Edwards Life sciences, Fleetwood Enterprises, and Schwarz Pharma. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, and an MBA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Ashish Joshi Senior Director, Business Development and Alliances

With 11 years of Siebel experience, spanning implementation services and product management, Ashish is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in the CRM Call Center industry. He has been a key contributor to some of the largest and most successful Siebel Call Center implementations with more than 5000 call center agents and has a wealth of experience in Call Center and Service business processes across industry applications. Ashish has promoted design and implementation best practices to over 100 Siebel customers, more than 50 of which are Siebel Call Center and CTI implementations. 

Ashish is responsible for managing Serene’s business development and product co-development initiatives with an emphasis on the Call Center and Service industry. He also manages strategic partnerships and develops value-added services for Serene.

Ashish joined Serene after working at Oracle Corporation, where he managed Siebel’s Gartner-rated, CRM industry-leading Call Center and Service products as a director in the Siebel Product Management group. He has been a key contributor to Siebel’s 7.8, 8.0, and 8.1.1 releases.

Ashish holds a Master’s of Science degree from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Pune, India.