o9 Solutions Appoints Krishnakumar Kulankara to Chief Operating Officer

DALLAS, June 13, 2026 – o9 Solutions, a leading software company that is powering enterprise planning and decisioning models across 30-plus industry verticals with its groundbreaking Digital Brain platform, today announced the appointment of Krishnakumar Kulankara, who has spent more than a decade at o9 building and transforming key areas of the business across delivery, product, and go-to-market, to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Kulankara's appointment signals o9's commitment to the operational transformation required to drive adoption of its next breakthrough innovation, the APEX Model, short for Agile, Adaptive, Autonomous Planning & Execution.

o9's original breakthrough 10x innovation, the Digital Brain platform, was designed to optimize enterprise value by bridging the functional, process, and knowledge silos of enterprises and drive more agile planning and execution in response to market risks and opportunities. APEX builds on this innovation, recognizing that the next big 10x problem to solve is making change simpler, and transformations faster and more reliable in delivering value. To make this happen, enterprises need the constraint is not just better planning and decision-making technology. The constraint is the traditional operating models themselves: Organization structures, processes, people skills, and data all must be reimagined for the AI age.

APEX is powered by a scientific knowledge-powered method and model that understands the complexity of enterprise business models, and how enterprise planning, decision-making, and execution work at scale in volatile and uncertain business environments to drive enterprise value. Powered by that knowledge, APEX has powerful Adaptive capabilities that are constantly learning and identifying where and why value leakages occur in enterprises of all types across industries, how to measure and diagnose the root causes, and systematically and continuously improve and transform every planning and execution process, organizational skill, and capability to maximize enterprise value. APEX also systematically helps processes become more Autonomous with Agentic AI, automating routine analysis and actions, and augmenting human capabilities in higher-value decision-making and execution.

The goal of APEX is to make the transformation journey simpler, faster, and more continuous to ensure that every decision, every process, and every function of the organization is constantly improving and focused on optimizing enterprise value.

In his new role, Kulankara will lead the cross-functional alignment and operational transformation required to advance APEX adoption at scale, both within o9 and for its clients. He will drive the transformation of each business function and organizational capabilities to ensure o9 operates at its highest level of efficiency and execution.

Kulankara brings more than a decade of experience at o9, having founded and scaled business units and industry practices from the ground up. His tenure has been defined by a proven ability to operate across every dimension of the business, from new client acquisition and strategic sales cycles to product development, delivery, and digital transformation. He has built strong executive relationships across a wide range of industries and has overseen programs delivering large-scale value for some of the world's leading companies.

"We are at a defining moment for enterprise planning," Kulankara said. "APEX is not just a technology innovation. It is a fundamental rethinking of how enterprises operate, decide, and deliver value. As COO, my focus is on driving the cross-functional alignment and operational transformation that will accelerate APEX adoption at scale. We have the platform, the people, and the momentum, and I am committed to ensuring o9 operates at its highest level to make that vision a reality."

"Krishna is the executive our organization turns to when the most complex, cross-functional challenges arise," said Igor Rikalo, President of o9 Solutions. "His decade-plus at o9 has given him an unmatched understanding of how we operate, compete, and deliver value. What sets Krishna apart is not just his institutional knowledge or his track record of building high-performing teams and scaling industry practices from inception. It is his ability to bring the entire organization together around a common goal and drive transformation with both urgency and humility. He is the right leader to operationalize APEX and position o9 for its next phase of growth."

Learn more about o9 at www.o9solutions.com.