MSCI Names Kashi Kakarla Chief Technology Officer

• Will open and lead a new Silicon Valley office
• Board of Directors establishes a Technology and Data Committee

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) appointed Kashi Kakarla as Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product Engineering, effective June 22. He will report to Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and will serve on MSCI’s Management Committee.

Kakarla joins from Intuit, where he spent 17 years building and transforming products and platforms serving millions of customers worldwide. Most recently, he led technology and engineering for the Intuit Small Business Platform. Previously, he helped transform QuickBooks into an AI-driven expert platform powered by agents and intelligence and led the development of new products for enterprise businesses and accounting firms.

Earlier in his career, Kakarla held engineering leadership roles at SiRF, a pioneer in the commercialization of GPS technology, and Motorola. He has an undergraduate degree from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, one of India’s most prestigious engineering institutions, and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Adelaide in Australia.

At MSCI, Kakarla will lead product technology and engineering across all product lines and client segments. A key priority will be leveraging AI to transform the way clients access and engage with MSCI’s content and expand the reach of the firm’s solutions to a broader audience of investment professionals. By embedding AI more deeply into the investment ecosystem as a strategic enabler, MSCI aims to help clients navigate complexity and uncertainty with greater speed, scale and foresight.

“I am delighted to welcome Kashi to MSCI,” said Fernandez. “His deep experience building and enhancing technology makes him the ideal leader to drive the next chapter of MSCI's transformation. In particular, his track record of using AI to modernize and scale complex products is exactly what we need as MSCI looks to increase the number of clients who consume our data, models, analytics and other content and make it easier for them to do so.”

“I’m thrilled to join MSCI at a pivotal moment in its growth story,” said Kakarla. “Harnessing the power of AI will help us build and scale solutions that help clients reach their goals and sustain MSCI’s market leadership.”

Kakarla will also lead the establishment of a new MSCI office in Silicon Valley as an innovation and talent center driving the firm’s AI and technology transformation.

To further support these efforts at the highest level of the organization, MSCI has established a Technology and Data Committee of the Board of Directors. The committee will draw on the deep technology and AI expertise of MSCI board members to help guide and oversee the firm’s data and technology transformation strategies.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) strengthens global markets by connecting participants across the financial ecosystem with a common language. Our research-based data, analytics and indexes, supported by advanced technology, set standards for global investors and help our clients understand risks and opportunities so they can make better decisions and unlock innovation. We serve asset managers and owners, private-market sponsors and investors, hedge funds, wealth managers, banks, insurers and corporates. To learn more, please visit www.msci.com.

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