Velkumar Thangavel

About Velkumar Thangavel

Accomplished technology leader with 20+ years of experience driving large‑scale Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, and Analytics transformations for Fortune 500 enterprises. I specialize in building and scaling high‑performing global teams, modernizing mission‑critical data platforms, and delivering measurable business impact through cloud and AI‑driven solutions across Payments, Retail, Healthcare, and Supply Chain domains.Currently, I serve as a Director in the Data Science Platform group at Visa Inc, where I lead a global organization of 80+ full‑time engineers and contingent specialists spanning Data Engineering (Big Data & Cloud), AI, Business Intelligence, and Full‑Stack Development.I am leading multi‑million‑dollar cloud transformation initiatives across Azure and AWS, including the successful migration of legacy on‑prem analytics and reporting platforms to Azure. This effort involved redesigning 200+ enterprise data pipelines and reports using Power BI, Databricks, and Microsoft Fabric, resulting in:60% faster go‑to‑market$4M in infrastructure and licensing cost savingsA strategic shift from BI‑centric to AI‑enabled analyticsPreviously, I played a key role in engineering Visa’s $125M global analytics platform, enabling financial institutions to securely analyze ~800 TB of data to improve decision‑making at scale. I have also led the delivery of Generative AI solutions, organized AI hackathons, and contributed 12 technical innovations and 2 defensive publications.Core ExpertiseData & Platforms: Spark, Hive, Kafka, Databricks, Microsoft FabricCloud: Azure Data Services, AWSBI & Analytics: Power BI, MicroStrategy, Tableau, CognosAI: Generative AI, Claude, ClineEngineering Excellence: CI/CD, Agile delivery, cost optimization, platform modernizationEarlier in my career, roles at IMS Health, Lancet Software, and others strengthened my foundation in enterprise BI architecture, mobile analytics, and large‑scale client integrations, working with organizations such as Novartis, AbbVie, Citibank, and Bank of America.I hold a B.Tech in Information Technology from Anna University and a Professional Certificate in AI/ML for Managers from IIM Kozhikode (2025). I’m deeply passionate about applying cloud, AI, and data platforms to solve complex business challenges and drive sustainable digital transformation. Open to strategic conversations around data platforms, AI adoption, and enterprise‑scale transformation.

Experience

1. Director

   Visa

   Jul 2022 — Present · Bengaluru, IN

   As Director – Data, BI & Analytics at Visa, I lead high-performing teams driving innovation in Generative AI, Business Intelligence, and Data Engineering. Over the past eight years—with three promotions from Staff Engineer to Director—I have recruited, built, and mentored a 60-member organization, fostering expertise across AI, analytics, and full-stack development.I spearheaded the engineering and launch of Visa’s pioneering $125M analytics platform for global banks, enabling access to 800TB+ of data and delivering measurable business improvements. My leadership in migrating complex reporting and analytics workloads to Azure Cloud—leveraging Power BI, Databricks, and Microsoft Fabric—enabled a seamless BI-to-AI transformation, accelerated time-to-market by 60%, and achieved $4M in cost savings.I am passionate about advancing technical strategy and cultivating talent. I’ve organized AI hackathons, mentored engineers, architects, and data scientists, and championed a culture of innovation—holding over 12 technical innovations and 2 defensive publications at Visa. Recognized as a top technology leader, I consistently achieve exceptional Manager and Engagement Index scores in employee surveys.My role also includes orchestrating system design and architecture, aligning complex requirements across diverse customer bases, and leading vendor negotiations and RFP reviews. I thrive at the intersection of strategy, technology, and people, delivering results in payments, retail, healthcare, and supply chain domains.

Education

• Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College

  B.Tech, Information Technology

  2001 — 2005

• Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

  Professional Certificate On AI/ML for Managers, Artificial Intelligence

Skills

• Microsoft Sql Server
• Data Modeling
• Microstrategy
• Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc)
• Access
• Sdlc
• Oracle
• Data Mining
• Requirements Analysis
• Etl
• Pl/Sql
• Data Warehousing
• Databases
• Business Intelligence
• Sql
• Requirements Gathering
• Software Project Management