India’s recruitment technology major Info Edge (India) Limited has announced the elevation of Jatin Thukral to the dual roles of Chief AI Scientist for the parent company and Chief Product Officer (CPO) for its flagship platform Naukri, effective 3 November 2025.
The decision was approved by the company’s Board through a circular resolution on 30 October. In his new capacity, Thukral will continue to lead artificial intelligence and machine-learning initiatives across Info Edge’s business portfolio while also steering product development for Naukri and its Expert Assist business.
Thukral joined Info Edge in 2020 as Executive Vice President and Head of Data Science. His two-decade career includes leadership roles at BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, as well as data science research at Flipkart. He holds a PhD from ETH Zurich and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
According to company disclosures, the leadership move marks a deeper organisational push to position AI as a core growth engine rather than a supporting function. Info Edge reported that enterprise-wide AI adoption led to an improvement of 15–20 percent in key operational metrics during the last fiscal year.
As part of its long-term strategy, the company is focusing on three core areas: enhancing search and personalisation capabilities, developing new AI-led products, and improving internal operational efficiency. Info Edge has built an in-house team of approximately 130 AI scientists and engineers to accelerate this agenda.
In parallel with Thukral’s elevation, the company has announced additional leadership changes. Nimish Kulshrestha has been designated Chief Business Officer for its verticals such as IIMJobs, Hirist, and NaukriGulf, while Shail Gaurav has been appointed Chief Business Officer for Naukri 360 and Head of B2C Marketing.
In his expanded role, Thukral will oversee both the company’s AI strategy and product innovation at Naukri, a business that remains central to India’s online employment marketplace ecosystem. The dual assignment merges two critical levers—AI capability and product leadership—under one executive, ensuring tighter integration between technological advancement and user experience.
Industry analysts view this development as part of a wider trend among Indian internet and recruitment companies to embed AI into their core operations and product roadmaps. With this move, Info Edge signals a shift from using AI as an enabler to positioning it as a key differentiator in its business model.
For Thukral, the appointment expands his responsibilities beyond data science and algorithmic innovation to encompass product strategy, roadmap design, go-to-market planning, and user-experience leadership across the Naukri ecosystem. He will continue to oversee AI research and development efforts for the parent organisation simultaneously.
The timing of the leadership restructuring aligns with the growing adoption of AI-driven technologies in hiring, recruitment advertising, and career-platform personalisation. Info Edge plans to leverage its proprietary data, scale of operations, and financial resources to integrate generative AI and automation into its recruitment and matching platforms in the coming months.
While the company has not disclosed specific performance targets linked to the new roles, its stated focus is on improving product delivery, monetisation potential, and user retention through smarter platform features and advanced analytics.
For its workforce and partners, the leadership changes reflect Info Edge’s goal of driving stronger collaboration between engineering, data science, and product teams. The integration of AI at scale also underscores the company’s attention to data governance, algorithmic transparency, and user trust.
In summary, Info Edge’s elevation of Jatin Thukral to Chief AI Scientist and Naukri Chief Product Officer represents a clear step in its plan to deepen AI-driven product innovation. As competition intensifies in India’s recruitment technology space, the move positions Info Edge to strengthen its market leadership through intelligent, data-led growth.