Kavikrut has been appointed as the new CEO of T-Hub, a leading startup incubator in Telangana, effective March 10, 2025. The appointment was announced by the Telangana government, which established T-Hub to support and nurture startups in the state. Kavikrut brings 17 years of experience in leadership roles across various firms to his new position.
He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MSc in Finance from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. Kavikrut started his career as a healthcare startup founder and has worked with renowned companies such as Amazon and the Piramal Group. His most recent role was as Chief Growth Officer at OYO, where he played a key role in expanding the company’s presence to over 100 cities in India and led its international expansion into Japan in partnership with Yahoo! Japan and SoftBank Japan in 2018.
T-Hub has supported more than 2,000 startups through its programs, global market access, and industry collaboration.
Kavikrut’s leadership and startup vision
Kavikrut’s appointment is expected to strengthen T-Hub’s mission of empowering entrepreneurs, accelerating startup growth, and driving the development of world-class products from India for the global market.
Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for IT and Industries of the Government of Telangana, welcomed Kavikrut’s appointment, stating, “His passion for startups, global experience, and hands-on operational skills make him the ideal leader for T-Hub. His leadership will play a crucial role in making India a powerhouse of entrepreneurship.”
B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, founding director at T-Hub and founder chairman of IT firm Cyient, described Kavikrut’s appointment as a significant milestone for T-Hub. Kavikrut, who hails from Hyderabad, expressed his excitement about his new role, saying, “Telangana’s commitment to startups has been truly inspiring.
I am honored to have the opportunity to build upon the pioneering work T-Hub has been doing for the past decade. I am excited by the potential of Hyderabad as it steadily grows into a hub for startups building products and services for the world.”
The appointment follows the resignation of the previous CEO, Mahankali Srinivas Rao, in October 2024, who had led T-Hub for approximately three years. The government had named the Chief Innovation Officer as the interim CEO until Kavikrut’s appointment.
Kavikrut’s appointment completes the Congress government’s selection of heads for all three major startup ecosystem establishments in Hyderabad – T-Hub, hardware prototyping facility T-Works, and women entrepreneurship-focused WE Hub – since assuming office in December 2023.
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