Rackspace Technology has announced a major leadership transition, naming Gajen Kandiah as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 3, 2025. Kandiah takes over from Amar Maletira, who will step into the role of Vice Chairman of the Board, ensuring a smooth leadership handover while continuing to support the company’s long-term strategy.
Kandiah brings with him an extensive background in services, infrastructure, software, and AI, positioning him to lead Rackspace in its next growth phase. Most recently, he served as President & COO of Hitachi Digital and CEO of Hitachi Vantara, where he successfully integrated AI across industrial and enterprise portfolios. His impressive career also includes a 16-year tenure at Cognizant, where he played a crucial role in scaling the company’s business from $368 million to over $16 billion.
Expressing enthusiasm about his new role, Kandiah stated, “I am honored to lead Rackspace Technology and its exceptional team of Rackers. What draws me most is the Racker culture and our unwavering dedication to customer success. As industries take AI to production, they need the governed multicloud operations that our talented teams design, build, and operate across private, public, and sovereign clouds.”
Jeffrey Benjamin, Chairman of Rackspace’s Board, praised the appointment, describing Kandiah as “a proven operator across services, infrastructure, software, and AI,” emphasizing that his expertise perfectly aligns with Rackspace’s AI-first multicloud strategy aimed at delivering secure, reliable, and governed cloud solutions to customers worldwide.
The leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment for Rackspace, as organizations across industries are accelerating their adoption of AI and seeking scalable, secure multicloud solutions. Under Kandiah’s leadership, the company is expected to sharpen its focus on helping customers design, build, and manage cloud infrastructure that supports enterprise-grade AI deployment.
With this appointment, Rackspace signals its commitment to strengthening its position as a leading multicloud solutions provider while capitalizing on the surge in AI-driven transformation across sectors.
