CIO Suresh Kotha joined SMUD 20 years ago with multiple roles — chief enterprise architect, manager and principle technical developer for IT applications — and joined the utility’s senior leadership team in 2010. Before he was named CIO this month by SMUD CEO and General Manager Paul Lau, Kotha had most recently served as director of IT Strategic Initiatives and Operational Technology.
“We’re fortunate to have Suresh in this new role,” Lau told Techwire via email. “He brings deep technical knowledge in all aspects of SMUD’s technology systems and operations and an inclusive leadership style. Over the years, Suresh has led many technology projects to reimagine and optimize our technology systems and architecture, which is especially important as SMUD transitions to a carbon-free power supply by 2030.”
The veteran technologist is a graduate of Gulbarga University, where he received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in electronics and communications engineering; and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, where he received his Master’s of Technology in computer science. Before joining SMUD, he had 10 years’ experience in IT.
In his LinkedIn profile, Kotha describes himself as a “transformational, results-driven, business-centric, and engaging senior technology leader with experience in strategic planning” and managing complex IT and operational technology systems and enterprise-wide business applications.
Kotha succeeds former CIO Stephen Clemons, who left SMUD in January and is now CIO of Utility Technology Consulting Solutions.
