In a significant leadership move reflecting the rapid transformation of enterprise operations, IBM Consulting has appointed Yogendra (Yogi) Goyal as Global Managing Partner – Service Line Leader, AI-First Business Operations. Goyal, a veteran in the business services industry, brings more than 25 years of experience driving large-scale transformation and P&L growth across global markets.
Goyal’s appointment marks IBM’s deepening focus on embedding artificial intelligence across business operations — a direction aligned with the company’s broader vision of becoming an “AI-first” consulting powerhouse. In his new role, he will oversee IBM’s global business process services unit, with a mandate to lead strategy, market expansion, and operational excellence through AI-driven innovation.
He joins a global leadership team that includes Mohamad Ali, Neil Dhar, Andy Baldwin, Glenn Finch, Tony Menezes, Joanne Wright, Warren Lewis, and Sia Rostami Ravari, working together to accelerate IBM Consulting’s AI-first transformation agenda.
A Veteran of the Business Services Industry
Few leaders have had a front-row seat to the evolution of the global business services sector quite like Yogi Goyal. Starting his career at EXL Service in the early 2000s, Goyal played a pivotal role in building the company’s insurance and healthcare business into a key growth engine. Those who knew him from those years often recall him as one of the most relentless professionals in the industry — known for showing up at client offices armed with a sharp understanding of process optimization and, as one former colleague puts it, “a brochure and a vision.”
After more than a decade at EXL, Goyal joined WNS Global Services, where he spent nearly 14 years, eventually becoming the company’s Global Chief Growth Officer. During his tenure, WNS grew from a market capitalization of $400 million to over $4 billion. Goyal was instrumental in shaping WNS’s go-to-market strategy, expanding its footprint across BFSI, healthcare, logistics, and analytics-led transformation. His focus on combining digital, data, and operational excellence helped reposition WNS as a transformation partner rather than just an outsourcing provider.
Driving the Next Chapter at IBM
At IBM Consulting, Goyal will lead the company’s business operations service line globally, focusing on scaling AI-enabled business processes and reimagining operational models for large enterprises. The role involves managing strategic direction, client growth, mergers and acquisitions, and talent transformation — all while aligning with IBM’s AI-first consulting strategy.
Goyal’s move comes as IBM doubles down on AI across its consulting and infrastructure arms. Over the past year, the company has introduced several initiatives around watsonx, its enterprise AI and data platform, and expanded collaborations with hyperscalers and enterprise software firms. The AI-first Business Operations unit will play a critical role in helping enterprises modernize workflows, enhance decision-making, and build trust-driven automation ecosystems.
The Bigger Picture
Goyal’s appointment reflects a larger industry shift. As global consulting and outsourcing firms reorient around AI, the ability to operationalize intelligence — not just automate — has become a defining differentiator. IBM Consulting’s move to place an AI-first mindset at the heart of its business operations signals how enterprise transformation is being redefined.
For Goyal, it’s a full-circle moment — from helping define India’s BPO story two decades ago to now leading one of the world’s largest AI-first transformation practices.
In his own words on LinkedIn, he summed up the opportunity: “I’m fortunate to work alongside stalwarts like Mohamad Ali, Neil Dhar, and Andy Baldwin to write the next chapter of IBM’s AI-first Business Operations.”
With this appointment, IBM Consulting appears ready to turn that chapter into a defining playbook for the next era of business services — one where AI drives not just automation, but intelligence at scale.
