Ruder Finn has announced the promotion of Tejas Totade to Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data & AI Officer, establishing a global leadership role that brings the agency’s technology, data and artificial intelligence capabilities under a shared strategic vision. Tejas has built a strong analytics and engineering team with several dozen specialists in hubs across India, the Philippines, and New York.The move reflects the growing connection of these disciplines across both Ruder Finn’s business and client work. In his expanded role, Totade will widen access to tools and training in every region and build the architecture that supports the agency's AI capabilities end to end. The global mandate formalizes work he has led across markets over the past year, including AI strategy and adoption programs in India and the U.K.“The greatest opportunity comes when we work together choosing the right technology, grounding it in data, and applying AI to solve a real business problem,” said Totade. “This role gives us an opportunity to create that shared vision globally and help our teams and clients translate the enormous potential of AI into measurable value.”“Ruder Finn has always believed that technology should expand what communicators are able to accomplish, and Tejas has been central to building that capability within our agency,” said Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn. “As technology, data and AI become increasingly interconnected, we’re committed to bringing the most cutting-edge AI capabilities to clients, under the leadership of Tejas.”Shivaram Lakshminarayan, Managing Director, Ruder Finn India said, “Tejas has played a pivotal role in advancing Ruder Finn’s AI-first vision. His appointment reflects the impact he has made in building specialist capabilities and accelerating AI adoption across our teams. As AI becomes a strategic partner in communications, Tejas’s global mandate will help connect our talent and innovation ecosystem with Ruder Finn’s global ambitions, creating greater value for our clients worldwide.”Totade has spent more than 16 years at Ruder Finn building the agency’s technology, data and AI capabilities. He joined the company as a senior developer and went on to establish rf.TechLab, Ruder Finn’s emerging technology incubator, in 2018. Today, he leads an international team spanning engineering, analytics and digital development, co-leads the agency’s AI-powered creative studio rf.Studio53, and oversees research and insights capabilities that combine proprietary methodologies with enterprise analytics tools. He has received significant industry recognition, including PRWeek’s “40 Under 40”, PRovoke Media’s Data Professional of the Year award and being named one of the PRNews People of the Year in the Agency Innovators.