Ketan S. Patel

Senior IT executive with 20+ years of global leadership experience delivering enterprise IT strategy, SAP-led digital transformation, and IT/OT convergence for large-scale manufacturing and industrial organisations across India, West Africa, Europe, and the USA. Trusted by C-suite stakeholders to align technology roadmaps with business goals, lead complex multi-million-dollar ERP programmes, build high-performing cross-border IT teams, and establish cybersecurity frameworks that materially reduce organisational risk. A commercially-minded Head of IT with deep expertise in SAP S/4HANA, Industry 4.0, cloud architecture, and operational technology — consistently delivering uptime, efficiency, and competitive advantage at scale.

Head of IT - Benin Textiles (Arise IIP) - Benin, West Africa

(2024-07)

Lead end-to-end IT operations across multiple manufacturing plants — ERP, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and plant systems — ensuring maximum uptime and operational resilience at group level.

• Programme Director for SAP S/4HANA implementation encompassing production-critical, logistics, and HR modules, delivering a unified digital backbone across the business.
• Defined and executed a plant-centric IT roadmap balancing operational reliability, cybersecurity maturity, and cost efficiency — aligned to the Arise IIP group strategy.
• Spearheaded IT/OT convergence and IIoT initiatives enabling predictive maintenance, improved machine availability, and real-time production visibility across plant floors.
• Integrated ASRS warehouse automation with SAP, achieving significant gains in inventory accuracy and material flow efficiency.
• Led SAP SuccessFactors integration with SAP HCM and S/4HANA, streamlining group-wide HR, payroll, and talent management processes.
• Established robust cybersecurity governance, access control frameworks, and group security policies across all plant sites in West Africa.
• Manage internal IT teams and strategic vendor partnerships to deliver SLA-driven, resilient IT services across a complex, multi-site environment.

Assistant General Manager – IT - Indo Count Industries Ltd. - Thane, Mumbai, India

(2023-05 - 2024-07)

Delivered a full-cycle SAP S/4HANA implementation for a large, multi-site textile manufacturing enterprise — on time and within budget.

• Designed and implemented a cloud-based Disaster Recovery solution, ensuring business continuity with minimised RTO/RPO across all critical systems.
• Established enterprise IT, cybersecurity, and governance policies aligned with ISO standards, achieving 100% compliance in all reviews.
• Deployed an advanced security stack — CrowdStrike (EDR), QRadar (SIEM), MFA, Trellix (DLP), and VAPT — materially reducing enterprise cyber risk exposure.
• Implemented enterprise-wide Zoho ITSM platform, standardising Incident, Change, Request, and Asset Management across multiple plants.
• Delivered measurable IT cost optimisation through vendor rationalisation, licence consolidation, and rigorous contract governance.

Section Head – IT (Senior Manager) - Grasim Industries Ltd., Aditya Birla Group - Bharuch, India

(2018-09 - 2023-04)

Led plant-wide SAP S/4HANA rollout tightly integrated with manufacturing processes, delivering real-time operational insight and process standardisation.

• Integrated IoT-based machine monitoring with SAP, enabling smart manufacturing, data-driven decisions, and measurable OEE improvements on the shop floor.
• Achieved a 100% success rate across all internal IT audits and compliance reviews throughout a five-year tenure.
• Deployed enterprise security solutions including CrowdStrike (EDR), Zscaler (SWG), and XDR, significantly strengthening overall security posture.
• Designed and commissioned an on-premises data centre supporting mission-critical plant applications with high availability and redundancy.
• Managed global IT operations supporting manufacturing units in the USA, Germany, and Thailand — coordinating across time zones and regulatory environments.

IT Manager - Birla Century, Aditya Birla Group - Bharuch, India

(2008-09 - 2018-09)

Owned all plant IT infrastructure and SAP BASIS operations, ensuring high availability of production-critical systems across a decade of sustained growth.

• Led multiple SAP upgrade cycles, system refreshes, transport management, and performance tuning initiatives.
• Designed secure plant networks and DR strategies aligned to group business continuity requirements.
• Implemented IoT-based production monitoring and real-time dashboards, improving visibility and decision-making across manufacturing lines.
• Pioneered deployment of the Barco Monitoring System for real-time textile machine performance visibility — later adopted group-wide.
• Delivered SAP PP & SD user training programmes that significantly improved adoption rates and operational process discipline.

IT Officer - Orient Press Limited - Silvassa, India

(2006-12 - 2008-03)

• Managed system administration, network security, and IT infrastructure health across the plant.
• Led technical implementation of Smart Card (E-Card) manufacturing projects as technical team head for end-to-end deployment.

Assistant System Officer - Jay Computers (Client: Hindustan Lever Ltd.) - Silvassa

(2006-06 - 2006-11)

Sr. FM Engineer - CMS Computer Ltd. - Vapi

(2005-12 - 2006-05)

System Administrator - Polycab Wires Pvt. Ltd. - Daman

(2005-02 - 2005-11)

Bachelor of Engineering - Computer Engineering - Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, India