Open to opportunities

Vasant Narayanan

@vasantnarayanan

Delivery Head at DriveNets who built its India Services Practice and converted a Tier-1 customer’s model, unlocking $10M+ in renewed business.

India

Message

At DriveNets, I built the India Services Practice from the ground up, including delivery frameworks, partner capabilities, commercial models, and resourcing. I own end-to-end delivery and customer experience for Tier-1 ISP deployments, along with $2.5M+ ARR and SLA governance.

I also converted a key customer’s commercial model from Subscription (Opex) to Perpetual (Capex), unlocking $10M+ USD of renewed business. I lead global program management across 50+ countries and oversee order-to-cash governance from purchase order to invoicing.

At Cisco, I program-managed CNAAP automation for Reliance Jio’s 300K+ device network and was accountable for $5M+ P&L and delivery operations across HDFC and RBI. Earlier, I designed and deployed Packet Core networks for RCOM, Vodafone, and Telenor.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Delivery Head, India/SAARC

Current

DriveNets

Mar 2022 - Present (4 years 7 months)

Owns end-to-end delivery and customer experience for Tier-1 ISP deployments across 50+ countries, managing $2.5M+ ARR and SLA governance. Built DriveNets' India Services Practice from the ground up, including delivery frameworks, partner capabilities, and commercial models.

P&L management Program Management Service Delivery Partnership Management RFP Contract Management Salesforce Regulatory Compliance MTCTE NCCS NSDTS

BFSI Lead, Services Sales

Cisco Systems

Jun 2021 - Mar 2022 (9 months)

Managed critical accounts including HDFC, ICICI, and NSE, focusing on success tracks and renewals. Drove 20% YoY bookings growth through cross-functional collaboration.

Services Sales Account Management Renewals Cross Functional Collaboration

Manager, Service Delivery

Cisco Systems

Dec 2013 - Jun 2021 (7 years 6 months)

Accountable for $5M+ P&L and delivery operations across HDFC and RBI, leading 100+ engineers. Program-managed CNAAP automation for Reliance Jio, the world's largest Mobile SP network, and built Self-Optimizing Networks (SON) delivery team for APAC.

Service Delivery P&L management Program Management SON Automation Team Leadership

Manager, Presales

Alcatel-Lucent

Apr 2012 - Dec 2013 (1 year 8 months)

Led RFx solutioning and commercial proposals across South Asia. Delivered business case modeling, SWOT, and ROI analytics for Packet Core engagements.

Pre Sales RFx Solutioning Business Case Development SWOT ROI Analysis Packet Core

Architect, Packet Core

Cisco Systems (Starent Networks)

May 2008 - Mar 2012 (3 years 10 months)

Designed and deployed global Packet Core networks for RCOM, Vodafone, and Telenor (Nordics). Starent Networks was acquired by Cisco in 2009.

Packet Core network design Deployment Telecommunications

Senior RF Engineer

ZTE India

Jan 2007 - May 2008 (1 year 4 months)

Presented co-existence trial findings to DoT/TRAI. Won 'Best RF Engineer of the Year' award.

RF Engineering Coexistence Regulatory

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Harvard Business School Online

Management Essentials, Management

2022 - 2022

Completed the Management Essentials course in 2022, sponsored by Cisco as a high-potential employee.

ITIL

ITIL v4 Foundation, Information Technology Service Management

2021 - 2021

Earned the ITIL v4 Foundation certification in August 2021.

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Senior Management Program, Management

2025 -

Completed the Senior Management Program (SMP14) in 2025, sponsored by DriveNets.

University of Hertfordshire

Master of Science, Data Communications and Networking

Earned an MSc in Data Communications and Networking from the University of Hertfordshire.

Mumbai University

Bachelor of Engineering, Telecommunications

Grade: First Class

Activities and societies: Best Student of Batch (top 5 percentile); 93.3% in HSC; elected Sports Secretary

Earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications with First Class honors. Recognized as Best Student of Batch among 300+ students, achieving top 5 percentile and 93.3% in HSC.