In this bonus episode, KB is joined by Ashish Dhawan, NetApp’s Senior Vice President/General Manager & Chief Revenue Officer, Cloud Business Unit and Gagan Gulati, General Manager, Data Services, on the ground at NetApp Insight 2024. Together, they dive into the critical topics shaping the future of data and AI.

Join us as we explore the accelerating drive towards enterprise cloud adoption with Ashish and discover the obstacles enterprises face and the strategies necessary for successful cloud integration.

Later in the episode, we shift focus to data protection and governance with Gagan as we discuss the crucial role of understanding and safeguarding your data in today’s digital landscape.

Ashish Dhawan, SVP/GM and Chief Revenue Officer, Cloud Business Unit

Ashish Dhawan is NetApp’s Senior Vice President of Global Cloud Sales. Ashish Dhawan is a highly respected leader in the technology industry, currently serving as the Managing Director for Global Enterprise Workloads at Amazon Web Services (AWS). With a career spanning over two decades, he has been the architect of several successful businesses across the world.

Driving Enterprise Cloud Adoption at AWS:
Since joining AWS in 2018, Dhawan has played a pivotal role in driving cloud adoption in enterprises. He began in Asia Pacific where he built the enterprise sales team and in 3 years helped the enterprise business grow 6X. He built and nurtured lasting C-level relationships, hired and mentored talented people, and was a change agent with a focus on strategic planning and disciplined execution. He then went on to lead the Global Enterprise Workloads team which focused on migrating and modernising key enterprise workloads like Microsoft and VMware. Under his leadership, the enterprise workloads business consistently grew >30% and he helped AWS achieve leadership in infrastructure and application modernization.

Early Career and Industry Expertise:
Dhawan began his career in technology sales, quickly establishing himself as a top performer. He honed his skills at companies like Wipro, Microsoft and Juniper, where he built businesses from scratch, created strong teams and left a legacy of strong relationships with customers and partners. Prior to joining AWS, Ashish was VP Sales at Juniper in Asia Pacific, Japan and China based out of Singapore. This experience gave him invaluable insights into the needs and challenges of enterprise customers, which has proven crucial in his current role.

A Visionary Leader and Motivator:
Dhawan is known for his strategic thinking, ability to build high-performing teams, and passion for innovation. He is an Amazon Bar Raiser and a highly respected leader within AWS, known for his motivational approach and commitment to employee development. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events, sharing his insights on the future of cloud computing and the impact it will have on businesses globally.

Gagan Gulati, General Manager, Data Services – NetApp

Gagan’s team focuses on building best-in-class data protection and governance products for NetApp enterprise and cloud storage. This portfolio includes backup, disaster recovery, ransomware protection, data classification and governance and CVO. Prior to NetApp, Gagan was Chief Product Officer at Behavox, a security and compliance company where he helped guide the vision, strategy, and roadmap for their product portfolio. Prior to that, Gagan was at Microsoft for 16 years. He was partner and director for PM for Data Protection and Governance products, where he took multiple products—including Azure RMS, Azure Information Protection, Microsoft Information Protection, and Azure Purview— from incubation to their incredible growth, usage, and success.