CDK Global has named Sudhakar Ramakrishna as its new president and CEO and a member of the CDK board of directors, effective October 5.
Sudhakar Ramakrishna succeeds Brian MacDonald, who is retiring after leading the company through a multi-year transformation.
MacDonald will retire and continue to serve as a senior strategic advisor to Brookfield and CDK, providing continuity and perspective through the planned leadership transition.
Sudhakar Ramakrishna is an experienced enterprise technology leader with decades of experience building and scaling software businesses across cloud, mobility, networking, security and collaboration markets.
Before joining CDK, Sudhakar Ramakrishna served as president and CEO of SolarWinds, a provider of infrastructure management software.
He previously led Pulse Secure, where he worked with customers and partners in complex, mission-critical environments.
His earlier leadership experience includes senior roles at Citrix, Polycom, Motorola, 3Com and U.S. Robotics.
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Commenting on the leadership transition, Doug Bayerd, managing partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and director of CDK’s board of directors, said the company was grateful to Brian MacDonald for his leadership and contribution to CDK.
“We are grateful to Brian for his leadership and the lasting impact he has had on CDK. He returned to the company at an important moment and led a multi-year transformation that strengthened CDK’s strategy, product roadmap and financial foundation,” said Doug Bayerd, managing partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and director of CDK’s board of directors.
“Sudhakar is the right leader to build on that foundation. His experience leading technology organizations, scaling innovation and commercializing customer-centric products makes him well suited to advance CDK’s momentum and help its customers succeed in a changing automotive landscape.”
With Sudhakar Ramakrishna taking over as president and CEO, CDK enters its next phase of growth following more than $500 million in investments made over several years to evolve its platform.
The investments are aimed at developing CDK’s platform from an industry-leading system of record into a system of intelligence and engagement.
As technology becomes increasingly central to automotive retail, CDK said its automotive-specific data provides a foundation for AI, analytics and customer insights. The company has 257 million unique customer IDs reflecting most U.S. consumers and vehicles on its platform.
This data advantage enables CDK to embed intelligence directly into the workflows that customers already use, without disruption.
Speaking about his priorities at CDK, Sudhakar Ramakrishna said the company has the people, scale, expertise and product depth to help customers derive greater value from its solutions.
“CDK has the people, scale, expertise and product depth to help customers get more from the solutions they rely on to operate their businesses,” said Ramakrishna.
“Our opportunity is to deliver more customer value and success through innovation, disciplined execution and reliable delivery. I look forward to spending time with our customers, learning from our teams and partners, and carrying forward our commitment to earning the industry’s trust every day.”
The appointment positions Sudhakar Ramakrishna to lead CDK as the automotive retail software provider continues to focus on innovation, customer value and the evolution of its technology platform.
