Kumar Venugopal

I was recruited by Biogen, a global leader in the biotechnology space specializing in therapies to treat neurological diseases, to build and lead a global organization delivering business value to global platforms through software development. I also serve in a Chief Data Officer capacity to strengthen our data governance and regulatory compliance posture and head up the Digital Automation Office to drive digital enablement and AI-based automation to corporate, manufacturing, R&D, and commercial functions. I earned the coveted CEO Award for my efforts, and in early 2024 I was appointed as Biogen’s AI/ML Champion by the CIO and the Executive Committee. Key Initiatives: ➺ Scaling the organization by more than 3x, including creating the SAFe Agile Delivery Center in India ➺ Capturing millions in cost savings, synergies, and business value through operational change and transformation initiatives ➺ Leading 100+ AI automation and digital innovation projects for improved health outcomes, data analytics, speed to market, risk management, rebate validation, and compliance reporting ➺ Instituting Scaled Agile/SAFe consistently into all software delivery factories and planning for a full DevOps rollout ➺ Increasing the diversity leader rate by 3x and launching the high-potential XLT Mentoring Program

After globalizing the IT infrastructure function, I earned a series of promotions to advance global business model adoption plus strategic insourcing and offshoring for other pivotal IT and business functions. Delivering $120M in OPEX and resource savings in 4 years for the new Global Business Services organization, I was recognized with the CEO Award. In the GBS VP role, I reported jointly to the CIO, the CFO, and the GBS Steering Committee. Key Initiatives: ➺ Launching 2 global GBS hubs with 24x7x365 operations, including legal entity formation, local partner development, and resource management ➺Scaling the GBS function to 1,200+ FTEs and managing the process to disengage from all outsource contracts and migrate services to our GBS hubs supporting IT Services, Finance, HR, Legal, Manufacturing, R&D, and Procurement ➺ Championing AI/ML automation, digital innovation as well as process and user experience optimization programs ➺ Implementing experience-based KPIs (XLA) to measure customer perception of end-to-end performance

While serving as US Head of IT Infrastructure, I was selected for this expat role at Teva’s global HQ in Israel to lead all aspects of strategy and execution to transform the enterprise IT infrastructure and drive the adoption of a modern, cloud-based ecosystem. Leading a team of 165 FTEs globally, we managed a portfolio of international data centers, system and application servers, workstations, mobile devices, and security applications supporting 51,000 employees in 80 worldwide markets. The $15M+ in value and cost savings delivered was the proof of concept needed for Teva to ultimately pursue a more holistic approach to a global shared services model for more IT and business functions. Key Initiatives: ➺ Initiating the hybrid global shared services and outsourced service provider model ➺ Collaborating with the CIO to harden the cybersecurity posture by remediating vulnerabilities and improving fortification, edge protection, manufacturing network protection, incident detection and response ➺ Leading the M&A integration effort to attain Day 1 Readiness for all IT infrastructure and security for the $39B acquisition of Actavis Generics ➺ Guiding resource optimization, IT service improvement, and operational excellence programs

In this role, I formed a new, formal Program Management Office (PMO) at Teva Americas IT. The PMO covers managing the IT portfolio, establishing and enforcing the project management standards/methodology, and establishing a formal skill assessment and training program for project managers. Key Initiatives: ➺ Performing a CMMI Maturity Assessment and developing a roadmap to achieve a mature, high-performance PMO ➺ Establishing the Americas IT Portfolio Management process and working with Senior IT and business management teams to form the Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) ➺ Creating and instituting the Americas IT Project Delivery Framework (PDF) to establish process, methodology, and quality gates to optimize consistent delivery of project solutions ➺ Improving the project on-time delivery marker baseline by 15% (improved from 50% to 65%)

I was tasked with assembling and leading a digital technology team to activate multi-channel digital marketing capabilities supporting Specialty Therapeutics, including Neurology, Pain, Wakefulness, Oncology, Women’s Health, Respiratory, and Select Brands. Key Initiatives: ➺ Building a team of 5 Business Analysts and Web Developers ➺ Collaborating with Digital Marketing agencies to influence messaging and digital development for product campaigns ➺ Deploying and hosting all Teva digital marketing efforts for US-based products ➺ Implementing the Siebel Marketing platform ➺ Enabling the launch of several Specialty products, including Syn-Ribo and Nuvigil

Serving in a transformation leadership role, I led a $40M+ program to revamp all of IT for a $140M business unit. Under my purview were the JD Edwards ERP, EDMS, CMMS, IT Infrastructure, Laboratory Systems, and Quality Systems with a $1.4M annual OPEX budget. Key Initiatives: ➺ Stabilizing and revamping all major IT systems and processes ➺ Fulfilling quality guidelines and FDA requirements to restore manufacturing operations ➺ Enabling the eventual asset divestiture to Bayer

Responsible for maintaining and enhancing Financial Systems for Teva Neuroscience including Coda Financials ERP, Hyperion Planning & Essbase, and Imagenow document management system.