Hitachi names Anand Birje AI unit CEO

Hitachi has appointed Anand Birje as chief executive of its digital engineering and AI business unit, effective Monday, 3 August.

The unit is part of Hitachi’s digital systems and services sector. Birje succeeds Jun Abe, who previously led the business unit alongside his role as chief executive of the broader sector.

Birje said the unit brings together capabilities from GlobalLogic, Hitachi Digital Services and Hitachi Vantara across digital engineering, cloud services, data, AI and the integration of information technology with operational systems.

The appointment comes as Hitachi expands its use of what it calls physical AI, applying artificial intelligence to machinery, industrial operations and critical infrastructure.

Birje said Hitachi could combine “physical AI and digital AI” with its industry expertise and capabilities in cloud, data, platform engineering and IT-OT integration.

“Hitachi is uniquely positioned to work across industries along with our ecosystem partners, helping clients on end-to-end digital transformation,” Birje said in a LinkedIn post announcing his appointment.

The business will support Hitachi’s Lumada 3.0 strategy and the expansion of HMAX, its suite of AI-enabled services and products for social infrastructure. Hitachi has been extending HMAX beyond railways into energy, industry and other sectors.

Abe said Birje brought more than 25 years of experience in cloud, data and AI and would help advance Hitachi’s physical-AI strategy and expand HMAX globally.

“Under Anand’s leadership, I am confident that the DEAI BU will play a pivotal role in advancing Hitachi’s physical AI vision and accelerating the global expansion of HMAX,” Abe said in a LinkedIn post.

Birje previously served as chief executive and a board member of digital-engineering firm Encora from May 2023. He stepped down after Indian technology-services firm Coforge completed its acquisition of Encora on 23 April.

Before joining Encora, Birje spent nearly two decades at HCL Technologies Ltd. He was president of digital business services and a member of the company’s executive leadership team, overseeing digital consulting, cloud, applications and data services.

Birje had earlier led HCL’s global digital and analytics services and its North American infrastructure and cloud-services operations. He also held positions at Atesto Technologies, Capgemini and Emerson Process Management.

Birje holds an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai and completed an executive program in mergers and acquisitions at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.