Shyam Karunakaran has been elevated to the role of President.
Citius Tech, a leading digital and enterprise AI company for healthcare and life sciences organizations, announced that Dhaval Shah, Chief Business Officer for the MedTech (HMT) and Life Sciences (HLS) markets, has been elevated to the role of Acting Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Shyam Karunakaran, Chief Business Officer for Healthcare Payer & Platforms (HHP & Platforms), has been elevated to the role of President, with broad responsibilities spanning enterprise strategy, markets, growth, and execution. Rajan Kohli, Chief Executive Officer, has decided to move on from his role by the end of August 2026 to pursue other opportunities.
The appointments reflect succession planning that has been in place and CitiusTech’s confidence in the strength of its leadership team, positioning the company for its next phase of growth. This leadership transition comes as CitiusTech builds on strong business momentum, with a continued focus on healthcare specialization, AI-led transformation and delivering measurable outcomes for clients.
“Over the past two decades, CitiusTech has built a strong and differentiated business, underpinned by deep healthcare expertise, trusted client relationships and an exceptional leadership team,” said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., Chairman, CitiusTech. “As two of CitiusTech’s early founding employees, Dhaval and Shyam have been integral to that journey and today lead over 80% of our business. Their deep understanding of our clients, people and industry, combined with their proven track record of building and scaling businesses, positions them strongly to lead CitiusTech through its next phase of growth. This is an exciting time for the company as healthcare organizations accelerate their adoption of AI and look for partners who can translate that technology into meaningful outcomes. Dhaval and Shyam have the full support of the Board, and the mandate to lead the organization and execute on its strategic priorities. We thank Rajan for his contributions to CitiusTech and wish him every success in the future.”
CitiusTech delivered strong growth in FY26, placing its performance in the top quartile of technology services companies, with strong business momentum continuing into FY27, while maintaining industry-leading client satisfaction, and multiple recognitions as a leader by leading industry analysts. CitiusTech is already helping clients apply AI to real-world healthcare challenges, with growing demand for healthcare-specific AI solutions driving strong momentum across the business. The focus now is to scale these offerings rapidly and responsibly to meet the evolving needs of clients.
Dhaval Shah has been with the company for more than 19 years, helping shape its culture, values, and operating model since its earliest days. Over his tenure, Dhaval has held various leadership roles and was responsible in building the company’s MedTech and Life Sciences businesses. Until recently, he served as Chief Business Officer for these industry segments.
“I want to thank Rajan and the Board for the strong foundation we are inheriting. Our vision to accelerate healthcare intelligence is well and truly underway,” said Dhaval Shah, Acting Chief Executive Officer, CitiusTech. “Our focus now is to make intelligence an integral part of how healthcare organizations operate, make decisions and deliver outcomes. We will build on this foundation to establish CitiusTech as a leader in healthcare AI services.”
Shyam Karunakaran has spent 17 years at CitiusTech. He served as Chief Business Officer for the company’s Payer and Platform businesses and helped build them into the franchises they are today. As President, he will bring that same strategic mandate to the broader organization, with responsibilities across enterprise strategy, markets, growth, and execution.
“Between Dhaval and me, we bring more than 36 years of experience at CitiusTech, and we are excited to lead the company through its next phase,” said Shyam Karunakaran, President, CitiusTech. “The healthcare industry stack is being rebuilt around AI, and CitiusTech is uniquely positioned to win across three layers – the Engineering Layer, the Intelligence Layer, and the Agentic Layer.”
Rajan Kohli said “It has been a privilege to lead CitiusTech and work alongside such a talented team. Together, we forged strategic partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem, elevated client trust, enhanced CitiusTech’s brand visibility as a category leader, and built a strong foundation in AI that is now driving real outcomes for our clients. I’m grateful to Bill and the Board for their partnership throughout this journey. Dhaval and Shyam are outstanding leaders, and they have my best wishes as they take CitiusTech to even greater heights.”
