Mannai Corporation QPSC, the Qatar-based conglomerate, has appointed Sumanta Roy as Group President for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), tasking the technology industry veteran with leading the group's regional expansion across the Middle East and Africa from a newly established headquarters in Riyadh. The appointment, announced on September 9, positions Roy to oversee a significant acceleration of Mannai's digital transformation push in Saudi Arabia, where the company inaugurated its ICT headquarters in June and has designated the kingdom as a strategic priority market.
The move underscores Mannai's commitment to capturing growth opportunities in the region's digital economy, particularly in Saudi Arabia's technology sector as government and private enterprises accelerate digital transformation initiatives aligned with Vision 2030. Group Chief Executive Officer Alekh Grewal, who took the helm in November 2024 and has spent over two decades at Mannai, stated that Roy joins the company at a critical juncture. "Sumanta joins Mannai at an important point in the evolution of our technology business," Grewal said. "He brings more than three decades of industry experience, an exceptional understanding of the Middle East and Africa, and a proven ability to build businesses, deepen customer relationships and lead growth across complex and rapidly evolving markets." No search firm involvement was disclosed in the appointment announcement.
Roy spent three decades at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), joining the Indian multinational IT services firm in 1992 and rising to serve as President and Regional Head for Middle East and Africa, a position he held starting in 2019. During his tenure at TCS, he led business expansion and customer relationship development across the region while advancing AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation initiatives, with significant work in Saudi Arabia. He holds an MBA in Marketing from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM). His departure from TCS, one of India's largest IT consulting firms with operations in 150 locations across 46 countries, represents the loss of a senior regional strategist who built substantial presence in markets the Qatari conglomerate is now targeting.
Mannai Corporation, established in 1950, operates as a diversified holding company with trailing annual revenue of approximately $1.51 billion as of March 2026. Its ICT division, the largest systems integrator in the Middle East, provides end-to-end technology solutions spanning infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services, digital transformation, and managed IT operations. The group operates primarily in Qatar but has expanded across the Gulf Cooperation Council nations and beyond, with particular focus on enterprise and government sector clients. In 2025, Mannai InfoTech won recognition as Google Cloud Country Partner of the Year for the Middle East, underscoring its scale in the region's cloud market. The June inauguration of the Riyadh headquarters represented a tangible commitment to capturing opportunities in Saudi Arabia's rapidly growing digital infrastructure market.
The appointment appears strategically timed to capitalize on accelerating digital investment across the Middle East and Africa. Roy's three decades at TCS and deep knowledge of regional markets position him to consolidate Mannai's fragmented ICT operations while pursuing growth in high-margin areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and managed services. The signal is clear: Grewal, who previously oversaw Mannai's international portfolio before returning to the CEO position, intends to use Roy's regional expertise and business-building track record to transform Mannai's ICT division from a predominantly Qatar-centric systems integrator into a scaled regional technology services player capable of competing for enterprise accounts across the Arabian Peninsula. The timing also reflects confidence in the region's technology spending cycle, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where government-backed digitalization programs and private sector modernization efforts are expected to sustain demand for comprehensive IT services over the medium term.
