Chief Information Officer • Chief Data Officer

I build technology organisations that drive commercial outcomes.

Data-driven technology executive who built a global information and data organisation from the ground up — establishing enterprise data governance, AI-powered operations, and BI capabilities underpinning $100M+ in annual revenue across 8 international markets.

$100M+ Revenue Enabled
8 Global Markets
95% Cost Reduction
Akshay Sapra
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Building from zero
to enterprise scale.

I'm a technology executive based in Sydney, Australia, with a career spanning four continents and industries from telecom to retail to higher education. My speciality is taking organisations from zero data maturity to enterprise-grade — building the teams, platforms, governance, and culture needed to make data a genuine competitive advantage.

At Love to Dream, I was recruited as the founding member of the technology function and built everything from scratch — a unified data platform integrating 22 sources, production GenAI features, an AI agentic workforce that transformed operational efficiency through intelligent automation, and a Master Data Management strategy spanning 8 global subsidiaries. The result: technology costs that are a fraction of industry benchmarks.

Before that, I led data strategy at Coles ($40B+ revenue), built enterprise systems at Monash University, and managed 30+ engineers across 5 countries at Amdocs serving 100M+ telecom subscribers.

I hold a Master of Data Science from Monash University and certifications in Databricks, Azure, AWS, and Power BI. I'm particularly passionate about the intersection of AI, data governance, and business strategy — and I believe the best CIOs and CDOs are those who can present a data investment case to the board as fluently as they can design a data pipeline.

Akshay Sapra at Love to Dream

Numbers that matter.

Key outcomes from building and scaling global technology operations.

📊 $100M+
Annual Revenue Platform
Architected the enterprise technology stack underpinning $100M+ in annual global D2C e-commerce revenue, enabling sustained record-breaking revenue performance.
🤖 67%
AI Agentic Workforce
Deployed AI agents across development, ERP customisation, data pipelines, and financial analysis — dramatically increasing output quality and velocity.
💰 95%
Infrastructure Cost Reduction
Built a proprietary iPaaS replacing Workato, slashing annual integration costs from $300K to under $15K.
🌏 8
Markets in 4 Months
Launched 8 international D2C storefronts with 4.8% conversion, 4.7 CSAT, and 68 NPS — contributing to 95% YoY US growth.
📈 100%
BI Adoption
Built the entire data platform from scratch — 22 sources, 135+ reports, Power BI Champions program achieving universal adoption.
🔒 Zero
Security Incidents
Established PCI-DSS, GDPR compliance, and enterprise data governance with zero security incidents over 4 years of global operations.

How I create value.

Selected projects demonstrating the intersection of data strategy and commercial outcomes.

Data Platform

Enterprise Data Platform — Zero to Scale

Inherited a company with no data infrastructure, no reporting, and all decisions made on gut feel. Designed and built the entire data platform from scratch, integrating 22 disparate sources (NetSuite, Shopify, logistics, marketing) into a unified Databricks lakehouse. Delivered 135+ automated reports and launched a Power BI Champions program that achieved 100% BI adoption across all business functions — from the CEO to warehouse managers.

22 sources integrated 135+ reports 100% BI adoption 7M-row M&A dataset
AI & Automation

AI Agentic Workforce Transformation

Identified that 67% of the team's effort was spent on repetitive tasks — ERP customisation, data pipeline maintenance, financial reporting, and routine development. Designed and deployed AI agents using OpenAI, LangChain, and custom agentic frameworks to automate these workflows. Dramatically increased output quality and velocity while reducing manual effort across the organisation. Also shipped production GenAI features (product-fit Q&A, natural language analytics) with CEO-endorsed rollout.

67% automation 2 production AI features
Cost Optimisation

95% Infrastructure Cost Reduction

The company was paying $300K/year for Workato as its integration platform — a disproportionate cost for a mid-market business. Evaluated build vs. buy options and designed a proprietary iPaaS solution using Python, Airflow, and serverless functions. Reduced annual integration costs to under $15K while increasing reliability and coverage across 8 markets. Additionally negotiated $350K+ in vendor credits and achieved 55% savings across all technology contracts.

$300K → $15K 95% reduction $350K+ vendor credits
MDM & Governance

Master Data Management & Enterprise Governance

With 8 international subsidiaries, 22 data sources, and no unified data model, the business had no single source of truth. Architected an enterprise MDM strategy that standardised product, customer, and financial data across all systems. Established data governance policies, PCI-DSS compliance for global payments, and GDPR controls for EU markets. This foundation enabled the financial analysis dashboards and self-service BI that now drive board-level decision-making.

8 subsidiaries unified PCI-DSS compliant GDPR compliant Zero incidents (4 years)

Career timeline.

A decade of building, scaling, and transforming technology organisations.

Aug 2021 — Present
Head of Technology & Data
Love to Dream — Sydney, Australia (Global)
Reporting to the CEO. Built the entire technology function from scratch for this high-growth global baby products company. Architected the data platform, ERP systems, e-commerce infrastructure, and AI capabilities underpinning $100M+ in annual revenue across 8 international markets.
Oct 2020 — Aug 2021
Senior Data Consultant
Coles — Melbourne, Australia
Led data strategy and cloud migration for Australia's second-largest supermarket chain ($40B+ revenue). Enhanced predictive analytics for inventory management and led enterprise data migration to Azure.
Jun 2018 — Oct 2020
Lead Software Engineer
Monash University — Melbourne, Australia
Led software engineering for the Faculty of IT. Designed enterprise systems serving 1,000+ academic staff. Published peer-reviewed research in Human-Computer Interaction.
Jun 2014 — Jun 2018
Lead Software Developer
Amdocs — USA, LATAM, India
Managed 30+ engineers across 5 countries delivering solutions for Telefónica and América Móvil (100M+ subscribers). Primary technical liaison across 3 time zones and 4 languages.

What others say.

"Akshay was not only highly reliable but also managed to consistently exceed expectations… single-handedly building our entire data and analytics platform from scratch… [He] saved the business hundreds of thousands of dollars."
James Peck
Product Leader (Former Manager)
"Akshay was integral in delivering business data strategy… to help the entire organisation make data-driven decisions. Along with his technical and strategic capabilities, he is also an amazing person who would be an asset to any team."
Paco Albie
Co-Founder, Digital Immersion
Let's Connect

Ready for the next challenge.

Open to CIO, CDO, and CTO opportunities across Australia and globally.

Akshay@AkshaySapra.com