Ex-Google & Acko Techie Joins Keka as CTO

BANGALORE, India: Fast-growing HR Tech platform, Keka catering to over 7,000 businesses across India and the Middle East, onboarded Venkatesh Gurumurthy as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The leadership hire was executed by the specialised technology search entity, Purple Quarter.

Founded in 2015, Keka streamlines core HR functions including payroll, performance management, and workforce analytics. The company’s global expansion and architectural evolution needs resulted in the successful partnership with Purple Quarter in identifying a seasoned technology leader with deep engineering expertise and scale readiness.

With Purple Quarter’s Behavioural Metrics Model (BMM), an intensive search was conducted to align Keka’s culture, product vision, and growth trajectory with the right tech leader match. Venkatesh Gurumurthy was eventually identified as a Nurturer archetype — known for scaling platforms, driving technical excellence, and aligning product innovation with business growth.

Venkatesh brings over two decades of leadership experience across high-growth and enterprise environments. His prior stints include senior technology roles at Acko, Google, Salesforce, and Deloitte, where he led large-scale engineering teams and drove innovation in cloud-native platforms, AI adoption, and enterprise SaaS delivery. His appointment marks a strategic upgrade from VP Engineering to Chief Technology Officer, aligning with Keka’s long-term growth objectives.

Under his leadership, Keka will accelerate its move to microservices architecture, enhance multi-cloud deployment, and establish best practices for engineering at scale. With a renewed focus on AI-led automation and global readiness, the company is poised to evolve into a category-defining HR Tech platform.

About Purple Quarter

Purple Quarter is a global bespoke firm with a singular focus on Technology Leadership Search for tech-driven product companies. In over eight years, the firm has mapped 15,000+ credible tech leaders and established a presence across the US, Singapore, the UAE, and India. With 200+ successful mandates, Purple Quarter specialises in cross-functional tech domains, offering customized leadership hiring solutions.

For more information, please email: marketing@purplequarter.com