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As digital transformation accelerates across the Middle East, global tech players are sharpening their regional focus. At the forefront of this strategic shift is Sahil Dhawan, newly appointed president and head of India, Middle East & Africa Business at Tech Mahindra.
With a strong track record in building client-centric strategies, Dhawan now leads the company’s expansion across key growth markets, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, at a time when national visions, sovereign tech, and AI-led transformation are reshaping the technology landscape.
In this exclusive interview, Dhawan outlines his immediate and long-term priorities for the region, explains how Tech Mahindra is aligning with initiatives such as the UAE Digital Government Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030, and offers insight into the company’s evolving AI roadmap, local partnerships, and innovation efforts across government, telecom, and BFSI sectors.
You’ve recently taken over as Head of India, Middle East, and Africa Business at Tech Mahindra. What are your immediate and long-term priorities for the Middle East region, particularly the UAE?
In the near term, my focus is on deepening engagement with existing customers, expanding local delivery capabilities, and capturing high-growth opportunities in priority sectors like government, telecom, and BFSI. We are also aligning our solutions more closely with national initiatives such as the UAE Digital Government Strategy and Vision 2031.
In the long term, the objective is to build a sustainable and scalable model for innovation, delivery, and talent development in the region. That means co-investing in local partnerships, advancing digital skills, and driving AI-led transformation in a way that is secure, inclusive, and tailored to regional needs.
How is Tech Mahindra aligning its AI strategy with national visions such as the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031 and other regional digital agendas?
We take a regional-first approach to AI — aligning closely with the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031, particularly its focus on government efficiency, future skills, and sustainable development. Our AI use cases in the region span intelligent automation and citizen engagement to fraud detection and ESG analytics.
We are also committed to responsible AI deployment, ensuring privacy, fairness, and compliance with local data laws. This includes working with academic institutions and ecosystem partners to support AI skill-building and to co-create solutions that are contextually relevant and regionally grounded.
Can you elaborate on your plans to deepen local partnerships in the region, especially with government bodies and large enterprises? Are sovereign tech and public-private collaboration part of that roadmap?
Public-private collaboration is central to our strategy in the region. We are actively partnering with both government entities and large enterprises to co-develop digital solutions that serve national priorities—ranging from public service automation to secure cloud-based platforms.
Sovereign tech is increasingly part of the conversation, particularly in regulated industries. We are building capabilities that support data residency, national cloud requirements, and localised AI development. Our roadmap includes deeper on-ground collaboration with policy makers and ecosystem stakeholders to ensure that innovation aligns with national interests and global standards.
We have been at the forefront of enabling sovereign technology capabilities across the Middle East through impactful public–private collaborations. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, we partnered with a leading government entity to establish a data & AI and cloud Centre of Excellence in Riyadh — aimed at nurturing local talent, accelerating digital transformation, and supporting Vision 2030. Similarly, in Qatar, we collaborated with a prominent telecom provider to enhance its Managed Security Services platform — bolstering the region’s cyber resilience with advanced capabilities like SOC, SIEM, and zero-trust architecture.
These efforts exemplify Tech Mahindra’s commitment to co-creating digital infrastructure that aligns with national priorities and empowers local ecosystems.
What are some of the key use cases where Tech Mahindra is applying AI in the UAE or plans to do so — whether in manufacturing, smart cities, financial services, or public sector transformation?
At Tech Mahindra, we view AI as a journey from vision and experimentation to real-world, safe value delivery. Our role is to walk alongside our customers at every stage of this journey, helping them shape the right strategy, build and deploy models, implement the right tools and processes, and embed AI into their business in a meaningful and responsible way.
We are guided by four core tenets that define the outcomes our customers seek: productivity delivered, transformation delivered, innovation delivered, and assurance delivered. These principles help ensure that AI becomes a powerful engine for operational and strategic value. We have seen tangible results: from enabling a major European telecom operator to reduce effort by 30 per cent and go to market 20 per cent faster to support a leading Saudi oil company in accelerating its digital innovation agenda and supporting a global automotive manufacturer in realising a 26 per cent improvement in delivery velocity and a 38 per cent boost in code coverage. Our focus remains clear — translating AI’s potential into measurable, responsible outcomes.
We have also aided Saudi Arabia’s Special Economic Zone City – built on Unreal, the immersive metaverse experience is designed to attract global customers and high net individuals (HNIs). To experience the next-generation city and engage in various activities and attractions within the digital landscape.
Additionally, for a leading global retail customer undergoing a major merger, we implemented a dedicated vulnerability management and mitigation framework to manage a sudden spike in infrastructure risks. This proactive initiative helped identify and mitigate flaws across code, systems, and endpoints. Through regular patch cycles and continuous monitoring, we achieved an 85% reduction in vulnerabilities by the fourth month, ensuring enhanced data center and network security.
The Middle East and Africa are increasingly being seen not just as consumers of technology but also as contributors to global innovation. How do you view the region’s evolution in this context?
The Middle East and Africa are rapidly emerging as significant contributors to global innovation. What was once primarily a consumption-led story is now a narrative of co-creation and leadership. We are seeing growing local ownership of digital IP, more investment in emerging technologies, and increasing regional participation in shaping technology governance.
Government-led vision, strong investment appetite, and a young, tech-savvy population are key enablers. In countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the pace of execution and openness to experimentation are setting benchmarks. The region is now firmly on the map as a strategic hub for piloting scalable, future-ready digital solutions.
How is Tech Mahindra leveraging its global expertise to address region-specific challenges, such as talent development, regulatory frameworks, and digital sovereignty?
We are leveraging our global experience while adapting to regional priorities. Talent development is a core focus—we are investing in training local professionals in AI, cybersecurity, and cloud technologies, while partnering with academic institutions to strengthen industry-readiness.
On regulatory alignment, we work closely with clients to ensure compliance with local laws around data privacy, AI usage, and cloud deployment. Digital sovereignty is increasingly important, and we are supporting customers with secure, locally hosted architecture that meets national standards. The goal is to enable innovation that respects local context while drawing on global best practices.
One such example is our transformation initiative for a leading refining and petrochemicals company in Saudi Arabia with over 90,000 employees globally.
During their S/4HANA upgrade, we enabled a 30% reduction in effort and timeline by leveraging Tech Mahindra’s proprietary tools. We also delivered enhanced UI design and improved overall operational efficiency.
