Chandra coleads McKinsey’s global software and technology work, having previously led the firm’s work in technology hardware and IT services globally. He also previously led Fuel—McKinsey’s investor and start-up company, as well as our work in the software space in North America. Chandra was also a founding partner of McKinsey’s Bangalore office.
Chandra serves some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing cloud companies—on both the software and hardware sides—on large-scale transformations and has a track record of helping clients achieve significant growth in their market capitalization. He brings deep expertise in product management and engineering.
Examples of Chandra’s recent client work include the following:
- leading one of the largest transformations in the software industry to double the market cap of a top software company
- helping a global top-five software company transform its product architecture and engineering practices from on-premises to public cloud
- leading one of the world’s largest B2B go-to-market transformations for a top cloud company, resulting in market-beating bookings growth
- crafting a leading hardware company’s strategy to enter and win in the edge-computing market
In addition to his client work, Chandra is deeply interested in the impact of technology trends on global business practices and speaks frequently on the topic at conferences and panels across North America.
Video
“TiEcon 2014: Cloud infrastructure: Leading technological trends in cloud orchestration,” panel discussion about the standards and technologies emerging to address the paradigm shift in cloud infrastructure, June 2014
“McKinsey & Company's Chandra Gnanasambandam on retail and the new consumer experience,” speech delivered at the TN Retail Conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry, August 2012
Published work
“How efficient growth can fuel enduring value creation in software,” McKinsey & Company, July 2024
“How generative AI could accelerate software product time to market,” McKinsey & Company, May 2024
“Turning consumer and retail companies into software-driven innovators,” McKinsey & Company, September 2023
“Yes, you can measure software developer productivity,” McKinsey & Company, August 2023
“Unleashing developer productivity with generative AI,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023
“What separates top product managers from the rest of the pack,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023
“Every company is a software company: Six ‘must dos’ to succeed,” McKinsey Quarterly, December 2022
“The SaaS factor: Six ways to drive growth by building new SaaS businesses,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022
“Responsible product management: The critical tech challenge,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022
“Cloud-migration opportunity: Business value grows, but missteps abound,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“Hardware’s business-model shift: Finding a new path forward,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021
“Developer velocity at work: Key lessons from industry digital leaders,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021
“Transforming infrastructure operations for a hybrid-cloud world,” McKinsey & Company, October 2019
“The product management talent dilemma,” McKinsey & Company, November 2018
“New demand, new markets: What edge computing means for hardware companies,” McKinsey & Company, November 2018
“Reimagining software services for the cloud and the digital world,” McKinsey & Company, February 2018
“Grow fast or die slow: The role of profitability in sustainable growth,” McKinsey & Company, October 2017
“Innovation Is as Much About Finding Partners as Building Products,” Harvard Business Review, July 2017
“A machine-learning approach to venture capital,” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2017
“Product managers for the digital world,” McKinsey & Company, May 2017
“An executive’s guide to software development,” McKinsey & Company, February 2017
“The perils of ignoring software development,” McKinsey Quarterly, February 2015
“From box to cloud: An approach for software development executives,” McKinsey & Company, January 2015 (PDF–690 KB)
“Next-generation IT infrastructure,” McKinsey & Company, April 2014
“Online and upcoming: the Internet's impact on India,” McKinsey & Company, December 2012 (PDF–2.52 MB)
Past experience
BEA Systems
Senior director, global accounts
Sun Microsystems
Java architect
Education
Georgia Institute of Technology
MS, engineering
University of Saskatchewan
MS, engineering