Aditya Vardhan named vice president IT and group chief information security officer at Jindal Steel

DELHI: Steel is hot, heavy and increasingly digital. That makes it a juicy target. Jindal Steel has put Aditya Vardhan in charge of defending it. He has taken up the role of vice president IT and (group) chief information security officer at Jindal Steel Ltd, the position he announced with the words “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position.”

Vardhan is a cybersecurity and business leader with 25+ years of experience building and leading enterprise security, risk and resilience programmes across complex global organisations. At Jindal Steel, he shapes cyber strategy, security architecture and governance across IT, OT, cloud, data and AI environments. He also leads the privacy programme, governance, risk and compliance (GRC), and the operations of the GCC IT Centre of Excellence.

His brief in the new role is wide. He leads enterprise cyber resilience, information security and privacy across Jindal Steel Group’s India and global operations, and oversees security for IT, OT and AI environments, enabling secure digital transformation. Within the GCC, he leads IT Centre of Excellence operations and governance, driving standards, risk oversight and business-aligned execution globally. He ensures secure, scalable service delivery across India and global businesses while strengthening standards, performance, controls and stakeholder outcomes.

The pedigree explains the pick. Vardhan’s 360-degree perspective is reinforced by experience establishing and executing cybersecurity businesses, including service portfolio strategy, P&L ownership, business development, client advisory, delivery operations and team building. His career spans manufacturing, energy and power, FMCG, BFSI, logistics and construction, with leadership experience across India, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He partners with boards and business leaders to translate cyber risk into strategic decisions, enable secure digital transformation, strengthen regulatory and operational resilience, and deliver measurable business outcomes. He combines cyber expertise, commercial acumen and people leadership.

Start with Jindal Steel, where he has spent three years and 11 months. He was vice president IT and (group) chief information security officer from April 2026. Before that, from December 2022 to March 2026, a stint of three years and four months, he was associate vice president IT and chief information security officer. In that role he was a business partner driving information and cyber security strategy and vision, and IT governance and compliance, as the company expanded its digital footprint across IT and OT. His skills there included enterprise risk management and budget management.

Before Jindal Steel came Quess Corp Limited, where he was AVP and business head, cyber security and risk, in Gurgaon from May 2018 to December 2022, a stint of four years and eight months. He guided the internal enterprise security architecture and programme, and enabled external clients to achieve secured business growth and digital innovation.

At CMS IT Services, from April 2014 to May 2018, he was practice head, information security. He encapsulated new-age services to address new-age security challenges and spearheaded the information security vertical P&L.

At Cairn India Ltd in Gurgaon, from May 2012 to April 2013, he was head, information security and IT compliance, leading information security and spearheading IT compliance. At Adani Group in Ahmedabad, from January 2011 to May 2012, he was head, information security. He spearheaded the information security programme for the entire group, and was clinical in establishing security focus at the senior management layer.

At PepsiCo Inc, from October 2006 to December 2010, a stint of four years and three months, he worked in information security for AMEA and the India business unit. He led security operations for AMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) after leading the security programme for the India business unit.

His career began at Larsen & Toubro Limited, in the ECCD unit, from 1999 to 2006, working in IT infrastructure and operations in Delhi and Chennai. He led IT infrastructure operations for the north region and subsequently for the entire division.

The pattern is clear: from data centres to boardrooms, with steel, snacks and oil along the way. As industrial plants plug into the cloud and AI, the person guarding the gate matters more than ever. Jindal Steel has hired a veteran for the job.