Ruder Finn promotes Tejas Totade to Global CTO and Chief Data & AI Officer

Ruder Finn has announced the promotion of Tejas Totade to Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Data & AI Officer. Tejas has built a strong digital, analytics and engineering team with several dozen specialists in hubs across India, the Philippines, and New York.

In his expanded role, Totade will widen access to tools and training in every region and build the architecture that supports the agency’s AI capabilities end to end. The global mandate formalizes work he has led across markets over the past year, including AI strategy and adoption programs in India and the U.K.

“The greatest opportunity comes when we work together choosing the right technology, grounding it in data, and applying AI to solve a real business problem,” said Totade. “This role gives us an opportunity to create that shared vision globally and help our teams and clients translate the enormous potential of AI into measurable value.”

“Ruder Finn has always believed that technology should expand what communicators are able to accomplish, and Tejas has been central to building that capability within our agency,” said Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn. “As technology, data and AI become increasingly interconnected, we’re committed to bringing the most cutting edge AI capabilities to clients, under the leadership of Tejas.”

Ruder Finn has also appointed Nick Driver as Managing Director, Research and Analytics, reporting to Totade. With 20 years of experience applying insight and analytics to complex challenges, Driver will lead research and analytics in the U.S, working across practices and client teams to advance audience intelligence, AI-driven insights, and measurement.

Totade has spent more than 16 years at Ruder Finn building the agency’s technology, data and AI capabilities. He joined the company as a senior developer and went on to establish rf.TechLab, Ruder Finn’s emerging technology incubator, in 2018.

“What drew me to Ruder Finn is the clarity of the agency’s tech-forward vision and the genuine commitment to making it real,” said Driver. “The technology, the talent and the ambition are already here. I’m excited to help make research and analytics an even more central part of how we understand audiences, guide strategy and demonstrate impact for clients.”

Today, Totade leads an international team spanning engineering, analytics and digital development, co-leads the agency’s AI-powered creative studio rf.Studio53, and oversees research and insights capabilities that combine proprietary methodologies with enterprise analytics tools.