Sijo Thomas
IT Strategy, IT Business Partner and Projects
Pune
Summary
Experienced IT Strategy, IT Business Partner & Operations Leader with over 15 years of expertise in leading IT service management, incident management, and continuous improvement initiatives. Skilled in overseeing end-to-end IT operations, managing critical incidents, and driving process enhancements to ensure operational excellence. Proven ability to implement ITIL best practices, improve service delivery, and align technology solutions with business goals. Strong leadership background, adept at mentoring cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration, and reporting to senior management on performance and progress.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
2
2
years of post-secondary education
6
6
Certifications
1
1
Language
Work History
Senior Manager – IT Strategy, IT Business Partner and Projects
AXA Global Business Services PVT LTD
Pune
03.2021 - Current
- Spearheaded IT strategy development and execution to align technology initiatives with AXA business goals, driving innovation, operational efficiency, and long-term growth.
- Acted as a key IT Business Partner to business stakeholders, translating business needs into actionable IT solutions and ensuring technology enabled business success.
- Directed a portfolio of critical IT projects, overseeing end-to-end delivery including planning, execution, stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and post-implementation review.
- Led IT Service Management (ITSM) operations, managing teams responsible for Service Desk, Work Request Management, Major Incident Management (MIM), Change, and Problem Management.
- Established and enforced ITIL best practices across service management functions to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery and rapid incident resolution.
- Implemented service performance metrics and reporting dashboards to monitor SLAs, identify trends, and drive continual service improvement.
- Played a pivotal role in major incident response and resolution, coordinating cross-functional teams to minimize business impact and ensure timely communication with senior leadership.
- Strengthened Change and Problem Management processes to reduce recurring issues and improve overall system stability and reliability.
- Partnered with internal audit, compliance, and security teams to ensure all IT processes met regulatory and governance standards.
- Mentored and managed high-performing, cross-functional teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and service excellence.
- Provided regular strategic updates to executive leadership on IT performance, risks, and opportunities for optimization.
Assistant Manager – Service Desk
Capita India PVT Ltd
Pune
12.2014 - 03.2021
- Led the IT Service Desk operations supporting over 10,000 users across India, the UK, Ireland, and South Africa, ensuring consistent, high-quality IT support for a global user base.
- Managed a team of 63 People, service desk, MIM, Change Management, Problem Management, IAM and Remote Desktop support professionals, providing leadership, coaching, and operational oversight to drive performance, service excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Played a key role in setting up and standardizing IT Service Management (ITSM) practices for UK operations, aligning with ITIL frameworks to deliver efficient and reliable IT services.
- Oversaw and optimized Global Major Incident Management (MIM), ensuring rapid incident response, clear stakeholder communication, and effective root cause analysis.
- Directed Change and Problem Management processes, minimizing risk and enhancing IT stability by ensuring thorough impact assessments, change planning, and proactive issue resolution.
- Developed and implemented performance dashboards, service-level metrics, and reporting tools to track KPIs, identify trends, and drive operational improvements.
- Collaborated closely with UK stakeholders and senior IT leadership to align support strategies with business needs and ensure seamless end-user experience across regions.
- Established knowledge base practices and SOPs to support consistent service delivery and quick resolution of recurring issues.
- Recognized for strong stakeholder management, global team coordination, and delivering measurable improvements in service desk efficiency and incident response.
Customer Relationship Advisor
Tech Mahindra PVT LTD
Pune
11.2011 - 11.2014
- Managed a Level 2 (L2) technical support team, delivering advanced troubleshooting and resolution for complex network-related issues for enterprise clients.
- Served as a key customer liaison, ensuring high levels of satisfaction through proactive communication, issue resolution, and service excellence.
- Specialized in network support, overseeing incident management, root cause analysis, and coordination with engineering teams for escalated cases.
- Monitored and maintained network performance, identifying and resolving connectivity and configuration issues across client environments.
- Ensured adherence to SLAs and quality standards, driving continuous improvement in response times and customer experience.
- Provided mentorship and technical guidance to L2 support staff, enhancing team capability and knowledge in network operations and customer handling.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to escalate unresolved issues, implement solutions, and prevent recurring problems.
- Maintained documentation, knowledge bases, and support processes to ensure consistent service delivery and knowledge transfer.
Technical Support Analyst
Mphasis an HP Company
Pune
02.2010 - 03.2011
- Delivered technical support to global end-users, troubleshooting hardware, software, network, and application issues to ensure minimal downtime and high user satisfaction.
- Provided L1 and L1.5 support across various IT environments, escalating complex issues to relevant teams while maintaining ownership until resolution.
- Handled incident tickets via ITSM tools, ensuring timely response, accurate documentation, and resolution within defined SLAs.
- Assisted users with account management tasks including password resets, access provisioning, and basic Active Directory troubleshooting.
- Supported remote connectivity, VPN issues, and basic network troubleshooting for seamless access to corporate systems and resources.
- Collaborated with cross-functional IT teams to ensure smooth escalation processes and knowledge sharing.
- Maintained knowledge base articles and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to streamline support processes and reduce repeat incidents.
- Contributed to service improvement initiatives by analyzing ticket trends, identifying common issues, and suggesting preventive measures.
Associate Analyst-SIS (IT)
Eaton Technologies Private Limited
Pune
10.2008 - 02.2010
- Company Overview: (Business Associate with Leon Computers)
- Provided day-to-day IT support for end-users, ensuring smooth operations of hardware, software, and enterprise applications within the Shared IT Services (SIS) environment.
- Assisted in the configuration, installation, and maintenance of desktops, laptops, printers, and other IT peripherals across the organization.
- Handled first-level troubleshooting for incidents and service requests related to system performance, network connectivity, and user access issues.
- Supported asset management processes, including hardware/software inventory tracking, tagging, and lifecycle management.
- Worked closely with global support teams and vendors to coordinate issue resolution and maintain service continuity.
- Ensured compliance with Eaton’s IT policies and security standards while executing system configurations and user access provisioning.
- Participated in system upgrades, patching activities, and deployment projects to enhance infrastructure performance and security.
- Maintained documentation and updated knowledge base articles to promote efficiency and consistency in support delivery.
- Delivered user training and onboarding assistance for new joiners, ensuring proper IT orientation and access setup.
- (Business Associate with Leon Computers)
Education
MBA - IT
Kalinga University
Raipur 06.2021 - 05.2023
Skills
- IT strategic planning
- IT strategic advisor
- Operations Leader
- IT service delivery
- Incident resolution
Continuous improvement
- Comprehensive IT operations management
Critical incident management
Process optimization
Operational excellence
- ITIL framework implementation
Service delivery
Technology solutions alignment
Leadership
Mentoring
- Engagement in cross-departmental collaboration
Accomplishments
- Received Extra Miler Award- Mphasis and HP company in 2010
- Certification of Appreciation- Hutchison Global Services (Tech Mahindra PVT LTD) 2013
- Pat on the Back Award for the month (Capita IT Enterprise services)
- Star Performer for Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 – AXA Global Business Services
- Best Service Desk in AXA (Effective, Generally Effective, Improvement needed and Inefficient)
- Star Performer in Q1 2023 (for Migrating 2000K users from Citrix to Azur Platform)
- Star Performer in Q4 2023
Certification
ITIL V4 foundation
Timeline
MBA - IT
Kalinga University
06.2021 - 05.2023
Senior Manager – IT Strategy, IT Business Partner and Projects
AXA Global Business Services PVT LTD
03.2021 - Current
Assistant Manager – Service Desk
Capita India PVT Ltd
12.2014 - 03.2021
Customer Relationship Advisor
Tech Mahindra PVT LTD
11.2011 - 11.2014
Technical Support Analyst
Mphasis an HP Company
02.2010 - 03.2011
Associate Analyst-SIS (IT)
Eaton Technologies Private Limited
10.2008 - 02.2010
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