About
Santosh Karkhanis 

Bringing Business Experience and Artificial Intelligence Together

I am a management consultant and trainer with over 40 years of industrial experience, including more than 30 years in global SAP, supply chain, and enterprise transformation consulting.

My professional journey began on the manufacturing shop floor and progressed through complex international consulting assignments and senior corporate leadership roles.

Today, my focus is on helping managers and organizations apply Artificial Intelligence to improve decision-making, solve business problems, and achieve meaningful business results.

I believe that AI becomes truly valuable when it is combined with business understanding, structured thinking, and sound human judgement.

My Professional Journey

My professional journey began on the manufacturing shop floor, where I gained firsthand experience in production operations, process improvement, and solving practical industrial problems.

In 1994, I moved into SAP consulting, working on complex enterprise transformation projects across India and internationally. My assignments included manufacturing, supply chain, warehouse management, logistics, and business process improvement.

Over the years, I have worked with global organizations including Philips, Compaq, Samsung, Lenovo, and Siemens. These assignments went beyond technology implementation to understanding business challenges, improving operational processes, and delivering measurable results.

This combination of manufacturing experience and international consulting has given me a strong foundation in understanding how organizations operate, how business problems develop, and how technology can support meaningful improvements.

Senior Leadership at Reliance Infrastructure

As Vice President at Reliance Infrastructure, I held senior leadership responsibilities for enterprise SAP and IT initiatives across multiple business verticals. I led a team of approximately 125 professionals, working closely with business leaders to align technology initiatives with organizational priorities.

This role strengthened my experience in enterprise transformation, cross-functional management, strategic decision-making, and managing complex business and technology challenges.

My Approach to AI for Management.

I believe that successful AI adoption begins with understanding business problems, not with selecting AI tools.

My approach combines practical management experience, structured problem-solving using the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process (TOC-TP), and the capabilities of modern Artificial Intelligence.

I use AI as a thinking partner to help managers explore alternatives, challenge assumptions, identify root causes, and evaluate possible solutions. However, business judgement, accountability, and final decisions must remain with people.

My objective is to help organizations move beyond using AI merely for individual productivity towards improving management decisions, business processes, and organizational performance.

Education & Professional Credentials

• Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) — IIT Bombay

First Class, 1983 | Metallurgical Engineering

• Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications — IIM Mumbai

1991

• Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals — MITx (edX)

CTL.SC1x | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015