IIT Madras Appoints Former ESPN Official As CEO Of Sports Science Centre Of Excellence
Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has appointed Ramesh Kumar, former ESPN Vice President and Head of ESPN (India and South Asia) and Global Head of ESPNcricinfo, as the Chief Executive Officer of Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA).
The Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics at IIT Madras will be a global platform for fostering innovation in sports technology and deliver products and solutions to enhance athlete performance and also serve general fitness and health consumers.
It will, according to IIT Madras, also create and deliver products and solutions across media platforms and work with sporting federations and bodies (creating their platforms and enhancing on ground experience and working with other media platforms) to increase fan engagement.
Welcoming Ramesh Kumar to IIT Madras, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, and the Head of CESSA said, “We are delighted that CESSA will be led by Ramesh, an industry veteran with a proven track record of impact. This aligns with our commitment to be at the forefront of sports tech helping athletes, coaches and all stakeholders.”
Mr. Ramesh Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Madras (BTech (ME), 1992 Batch) comes with more than three decades of industry experience with an initial corporate stint with the Tata Group in India and close to 24 years in the sports industry. He has been providing leadership to drive global digital leadership, innovation and growth of the world’s no 1 digital sports brand ‘ESPNcricinfo’. He also drove overall strategic leadership for ESPN India and South Asia operations.
Outlining his vision, Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), IIT Madras, said, “I am excited to join the Center and leverage the deep tech knowledge and domain strengths in the fields of AI, ML, data science, IoT/sensors, computer vision technology and bio mechanical analysis to envision solutions and products for sportspersons, general athletes, media platforms, sports fans, sporting federations and players in the sports education domain.”
