India, October 06, 2026: CDK Global has named Sudhakar Ramakrishna as its new President and CEO, effective October 5, 2026, the company announced. Ramakrishna, who is also joining the CDK board of directors, succeeds Brian MacDonald, who will retire and transition to a senior strategic advisor role for Brookfield and CDK.
Ramakrishna, originally from Hyderabad and an alumnus of Osmania University, brings decades of experience in enterprise technology, cloud, networking, and cybersecurity. He most recently served as President and CEO of SolarWinds, and has previously held senior leadership roles at Pulse Secure, Citrix, Polycom, Motorola, 3Com, and U.S. Robotics.
Leadership transition at CDK Global
Brian MacDonald, the outgoing President and CEO, led a multi-year transformation at CDK that strengthened the company’s strategy, product roadmap, and financial foundation. MacDonald will remain involved as a senior strategic advisor to Brookfield and CDK during the transition.
Doug Bayerd, managing partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and director on CDK’s board, said Ramakrishna’s experience in leading technology organizations and commercializing customer-centric products positions him to advance CDK’s momentum in the evolving automotive sector.
Strategic focus on AI and data
CDK Global has invested over $500 million in recent years to evolve its platform from a system of record to a system of intelligence and engagement. The company manages automotive-specific data, including 257 million unique customer IDs, covering most U.S. consumers and vehicles on its platform. This data is used to support AI, analytics, and customer insights, enabling CDK to embed intelligence into customer workflows.
Ramakrishna outlines vision
“CDK has the people, scale, expertise and product depth to help customers get more from the solutions they rely on to operate their businesses. Our opportunity is to deliver more customer value and success through innovation, disciplined execution and reliable delivery,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna.
CDK Global provides cloud-based software to dealerships and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the automotive and related industries, enabling management of end-to-end business operations from acquisition to repair and maintenance of vehicles.
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