Schneider Electric promotes Sumati Sahgal for data centres

Schneider Electric has promoted Sumati Sahgal to Vice President for Secure Power and Data Centres in its Greater India business, expanding her remit across one of the company's priority segments in India.

She will oversee the secure power and data centre business across the region, with responsibility for business performance, strategy and customer experience. Her brief also includes growth across cloud and service provider customers, broader enterprise channels and closer engagement with channel partners.

The appointment comes as demand for data centre infrastructure rises in India, driven by investment in cloud services, artificial intelligence workloads and broader digitalisation across industries. Suppliers are also seeking to strengthen their positions in power systems, cooling and related infrastructure as operators expand capacity.

Sahgal will lead Schneider's secure power and data centre portfolio, covering data centres and other critical infrastructure. Her remit includes the company's specialist model across sales, delivery and services, as well as go-to-market plans and strategic customer engagement.

Deepak Sharma, Zone President Greater India and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Schneider Electric India, commented on the appointment.

"Sumati brings extensive cross-industry expertise and a proven ability to drive business transformation and deliver customer value. Her strategic vision and leadership will further strengthen our Secure Power and Data Centre ecosystem as India accelerates its digital and energy transition. She will focus on driving hyper growth in the Cloud and Service Provider segment, expanding Enterprise channels, and reinforcing Schneider's leadership through strategic customer and channel partner engagement," said Deepak Sharma, Zone President Greater India and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric India.

Wider remit

Sahgal previously served as Vice President for Home Solutions at Schneider Electric India, where she led the homes and distribution division for the Greater India zone. In that role, she worked on portfolio innovation and changes to market strategy.

Her background spans more than 20 years in the technology and telecommunications sectors, including profit-and-loss responsibility, business transformation and customer-focused growth.

The leadership change also underlines the importance Schneider places on India within its regional and global operations. The company describes India as a hub for digital infrastructure, innovation and energy transition - areas that increasingly overlap as operators build data facilities to handle more intensive computing demand.

That overlap has become more pronounced as the growth of AI applications increases requirements for power resilience and thermal management. Equipment suppliers and service providers have responded by sharpening their focus on integrated offerings around electrical distribution, cooling systems, software and services for operators building or upgrading facilities.

Sahgal described the market backdrop in her first comments on the promotion.

"I am excited to take on this role at a time when AI and digital technologies are rapidly increasing the demand for robust data centre infrastructure. Our focus will be on delivering resilient power, efficient cooling, and intelligent infrastructure solutions that empower customers to build scalable, sustainable, and high-performance digital ecosystems. We aim to facilitate an end-to-end specialist model for our customers, leveraging our comprehensive Grid to Chip and Chip to Chiller portfolio, fully supported by advanced software and services solutions," said Sahgal.

India demand

India has emerged as a key market for data centre investment, with operators and technology groups adding capacity in major urban hubs to serve domestic demand and international customers. Growth in mobile data use, digital public infrastructure, enterprise cloud migration and AI-related computing needs has increased interest in the power and cooling systems that support these facilities.

For Schneider, the promotion places an internal executive with experience in another major business line into a role closely tied to those trends. It also gives Sahgal end-to-end responsibility for a segment central to the company's work with commercial and industrial customers seeking more reliable electrical infrastructure and related services.

Sahgal holds an MBA in Marketing from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Delhi.