Zuora CIO and digital transformation leader to help accelerate enterprise adoption of Relyance AI’s Data Defense Engineer‍

CIOs today face a tough tradeoff: drive rapid AI innovation or maintain security and governance. Most tools force a choice because they weren’t built for how data actually flows in today’s modern applications.

At Relyance AI, we believe enterprises shouldn’t have to choose. That’s why we built the Data Defense Engineer, a solution designed to protect sensitive data at the speed of modern software. And today, we’re excited to announce that Karthik Chakkarapani, SVP & CIO at Zuora, has joined us as Strategic CIO Advisor.

Why now?

As organizations race to adopt AI while safeguarding their data and operations, they need tools purpose-built for the realities of today's digital infrastructure not legacy approaches from five years ago. Karthik’s expertise bridges that gap.

Why Karthik?

Karthik brings over two decades of experience leading enterprise-scale digital and AI transformation across some of the world’s most respected tech companies. He has consistently tackled the same challenges our platform is built to solve.

At Zuora, he’s driving AI-powered digital transformation for the subscription economy, embedding AI directly into business workflows while implementing zero-trust security architecture. Prior to Zuora, he held leadership roles at Cisco, Salesforce, and Signify, where he spearheaded global digital transformation initiatives focused on operational efficiency, recurring revenue, and accelerated growth.

A few highlights:

• Currently leads Future of Work, Enterprise AI, and Agentic AI at Zuora
• Championed zero-trust security architecture in AI-driven environments
• Led global CX Digital transformation at Cisco and Salesforce‍
• Pioneered the "Salesforce on Salesforce" transformation strategy
• Named a Business Transformation 150 Leader by Constellation Research
• Executive Advisor at Northwestern Kellogg and NYU, mentoring the next generation of CIOs and CDOs
  

Security without slowing down innovation

Karthik’s philosophy is simple: Security should enable innovation not hinder it. That’s exactly the balance CIOs and CISOs are striving for in today’s AI era. With Karthik’s guidance, Relyance AI is even better positioned to help enterprises deploy AI responsibly, without compromising speed or security.

We’re thrilled to welcome him aboard.

The intelligence transformation problem

"Traditional data security tools were built for a world where applications were simple and data stayed in databases," explains Karthik. "But when you're implementing Agentic AI systems that make thousands of decisions per minute, you need to see how data flows through the entire system, not just where it sits."

This is the core challenge. Modern applications don't just store and retrieve data, they use data to think, learn, and act. When customer service AI understands context to respond intelligently, when financial systems analyze patterns to make decisions, when development tools generate and review code, data isn't passive anymore. It's the intelligence that drives everything.

Here's the problem: if that data gets compromised anywhere in its journey, the intelligence gets corrupted everywhere it goes. A poisoned dataset doesn't just leak information; it breaks the judgment of every AI model it touches.

Traditional security tools miss this completely. They scan snapshots, create compliance reports, and call it protection. But they're blind to the dynamic reality of how data flows through AI pipelines, gets transformed by models, and shapes application behavior.

Beyond point-in-time scanning

Our Data Defense Engineer works differently. Instead of taking pictures of parked data, it maps active data journeys from code to cloud to AI output. It understands how data moves, transforms, and gets used across your entire technology stack.

"What makes Relyance AI different is the autonomous approach," Karthik notes. "Instead of manual processes that require teams to hunt through dashboards and coordinate across departments, the Data Defense Engineer works autonomously to monitor data flows and enforce policies. That level of automation is exactly what you need to reduce operational costs while scaling AI initiatives."

This matters because speed is everything in AI adoption. The companies that figure out secure AI deployment first will dominate their markets. The ones that wait for perfect solutions will find themselves left behind.

While competitors focus on better scanning and discovery, we solve the real problem: giving you complete visibility into how your data powers your AI systems so you can innovate confidently.

Real-world impact at scale

Karthik brings perspective from implementing AI transformation at enterprise scale. At Zuora, he's not just deploying AI features; he's embedding Agentic AI into core business operations while maintaining security standards.

"The key is having the right foundation," Karthik explains. "You need platforms that can handle the complexity of modern data flows without slowing down innovation. That's exactly what Relyance AI delivers—the visibility and control to say yes to AI initiatives instead of no."

This approach is already working for companies like Zuora, Coinbase and Notion. When they needed to govern sensitive data across AI initiatives, they didn't want another compliance tool. They needed real-time visibility into how data moves through machine learning pipelines.

Under Karthik's guidance, we're accelerating our mission to eliminate the trade-off between security and innovation. Our customers deploy AI faster because they have complete visibility into how their data is used.

What this means for enterprise adoption

Karthik's involvement signals our commitment to solving real enterprise challenges. His experience scaling AI transformation at companies like Zuora and Cisco gives him unique insight into what CIOs and CISOs actually need.

"Every enterprise is becoming an AI company," Karthik emphasizes. "The ones that figure out secure, scalable AI adoption will thrive. The ones that get stuck in analysis paralysis will lose market share to more agile competitors."

This perspective shapes how we're building our platform. We're not just creating another security tool, we're building the operating system for secure AI transformation. That means solutions that integrate with existing workflows, provide actionable insights instead of more alerts, and scale with enterprise needs.

The companies already using our Data Defense Engineer aren't just more secure—they're more innovative. They can approve AI projects faster, demonstrate compliance more easily, and scale AI initiatives with confidence.

Looking ahead

With Karthik's strategic guidance, Relyance AI is positioned to lead enterprise AI security. We're not building better versions of old tools; we're creating entirely new solutions for entirely new problems.

"The transformation is already happening," Karthik concludes. "Every day, more applications become intelligent. Every day, data becomes more critical to business operations. The question isn't whether you need better data security, it's whether you'll lead this transformation or get left behind by it."

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, having advisors like Karthik ensures we're solving real problems for real leaders. Because when every application thinks, every dataset matters, and every flow could impact business outcomes, you need superintelligence watching over your data.

The future of data security isn't about doing DSPM better. It's about your Data Defense Engineer delivering the visibility and control you need to innovate safely. And with leaders like Karthik guiding our strategy, that future is here.