Google Cloud has elevated Vaibhav Gawde to Head of Customer Engineering for APAC Data Management and Database Cloud, expanding his leadership responsibilities across the Asia Pacific region.
In his new role, Gawde will lead teams that work with some of the region’s largest enterprises, helping them modernise their data foundations and adopt advanced database and cloud technologies. His focus will be on enabling scalable data architectures, accelerating innovation and supporting organisations as they navigate complex digital transformation journeys.
Based in Singapore, he will steer Google Cloud’s customer engineering organisation for its database business across APAC. A key part of his mandate includes shaping the company’s “data-to-AI” go-to-market strategy, positioning modern data infrastructure as a foundation for generative AI adoption.
He will also collaborate closely with sales leadership to drive cloud consumption among large enterprises while helping remove technical barriers that often slow digital transformation. Internally, he will work toward fostering a practitioner-first culture aimed at attracting and retaining top technical talent across the region.
Gawde joined Google in 2021 and previously served as Head of Customer Engineering for Financial Services in India before moving into the role of Principal Architect for Financial Services across APAC. In those roles, he led C-suite engagements with banks and insurers to design AI-led cloud and data strategies.
Prior to joining Google, he spent more than a decade at Oracle, where he led India sales consulting and worked on technology strategies spanning cloud infrastructure, databases and enterprise systems for large BFSI and telecom clients.
