Wasif Akbar
Senior Director - Engineering at Appian
- Role
- Senior Director of Engineering at Appian
- Location
- Chicago, IL, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Wasif Akbar
Wasif is an accomplished business leader with over 20 years of experience driving large-scale transformations and architecting the operational frameworks that allow global organizations to scale effectively. HIs expertise lies at the intersection of long-term strategy and high-velocity execution, specifically within Product, Engineering, and Professional Services environments. He specializes in leading cross-functional mandates that bridge the gap between conceptual corporate strategy and sustainable operations. He recently directed the comprehensive strategy and operations for Appian’s inaugural expansion into India, transforming a greenfield project into a Product, Engineering and Professional Services hub with 250+ employees. Through this process, he established an end-to-end operational playbook, fostered cross-functional alignment, and transplanted culture. He is committed to developing the strategy and operational systems that ensure global organizational transformations are efficient, aligned, and impactful.
Experience
Senior Director of Engineering
Apr 2023 — Present · US
I assumed broader scope as the Head of Operations for the Product and Engineering departments in addition to scaling India. In this new capacity, I provided budget oversight, T&E management, vendor and asset management, annual operational planning, capacity planning, and inter-department and global hub alignment. Under my leadership, the India hub matured from an incubated startup phase into a diversified, revenue-generating Global Center of Excellence. I led the transition to a permanent, state-of-the-art facility designed for long-term scale while fostering strategic and cultural alignment through an Ambassador Exchange program. A key milestone of this transformation was pivoting the office from a cost center to a revenue center by launching a Professional Services group. Currently, I am driving the strategy to reach a 500-employee milestone, diversifying the hub\'s functional presence to other business operations.
Education
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bachelor's degree
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