Team Sampada: We would like you to briefly introduce yourself to our readers; especially your professional profile and current role.
Santosh Katkol: I work as the Global Vice President of Services at PROS, a leading AI-powered SaaS platform specializing in Pricing, CPQ, and Revenue Management. In this role, I lead the global professional services organization, driving customer success, revenue growth, and operational excellence through scalable consulting and delivery functions.
With over three decades of experience across the US and India, I have held leadership roles at organizations such as PROS, Icertis, GEP, CP Ships, and began my career as a researcher at IISc.I hold a proven track record of building and scaling enterprise SaaS and AI service organizations that deliver measurable business impact. Guided by a strong customer-first mindset and a results-oriented approach rooted in people and purpose, I played a pivotal role in developing leadership talent and shaping the careers of over 10,000 professionals.
A proud UVCE alumnus from the 1990 Electrical and Electronics batch, I went on to earn a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of South Florida in 1993 and an MBA in International Business in 2000. After spending the early part of my career in the US, I returned to India to set up global delivery centers, and now live in Pittsburgh, USA, where my daughter is pursuing a degree in Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.
Beyond my professional life, I am a technologist with a passion for innovation, holding several AI patents in the supply chain domain. I am also creative at heart – a hobby photographer with interests in landscape, astrophotography, and fashion. My recent photography adventures have taken me to the Himalayas and Brazil, capturing the beauty of nature and people across diverse cultures through my lens.
TS: How do you see your company and its industry adapting to global trends and emerging technologies in the coming years?
SK: Thank you for raising such a timely and relevant question – it strikes at the heart of how we at PROS continue to evolve and deliver value to our customers, especially amidst the ongoing turbulence in global trade, tariffs, and supply chains.
On one hand, the continuation of geo-political shifts, trade wars, and economic uncertainty is expected to remain a challenge for businesses worldwide. On the other hand, we’re also witnessing the rapid maturity of AI and agentic technologies, which present significant opportunities to meet these challenges head-on. Businesses are increasingly seeking solutions that enable them to respond proactively to rising costs and market volatility – with pricing agility becoming a critical lever for protecting margins and accelerating growth.
At PROS, we’ve been an AI-native company for over a decade, and our latest innovations in AI/ML, agentic platforms, and AI Agents are purpose-built to meet this need for agility and precision. This is especially crucial for industries like manufacturing, distribution, airlines, and services, where dynamic pricing and rapid sales execution directly impact profitability. With the introduction of AI Agents into our platform, we’re entering a new era of intelligent automation – creating a multiplier effect on speed, accuracy, and strategic decision-making. These agents can autonomously analyze data, simulate pricing scenarios, and recommend optimal actions – enabling our customers to operate with confidence and agility, even in volatile markets.
Our AI-powered solutions help businesses deliver the right price for the right product, to the right customer – instantly. The result? Higher margins, faster deal cycles, and stronger customer loyalty, all while navigating today’s complex global environment.
To make it real, here are a few specific examples of how our next-gen solutions are helping customers across industries to manage global trends and turbulence:
– Typically for distributors, especially those operating across borders, tariff changes and trade regulations can drastically affect landed costs, supplier agreements, and customer pricing. A global electronics distributor customer of ours recently faced rising component costs due to U.S.-China tariffs. By using our pricing software to dynamically adjust regional pricing and CPQ tools to generate accurate, duty-inclusive quotes, they protected margins while maintaining customer trust.
– Manufacturers are hit hard by volatile raw material costs, cross-border production, and differentiated product configurations. These challenges intensify when tariffs make sourcing more expensive or shift demand between regions. A machinery manufacturing customer dealing with rising steel prices in Europe used CPQ to quote quickly with real-time material cost inputs. Pricing analytics enabled them to shift sourcing, adjust product bundles, & preserve margin, while maintaining competitive pricing in Asia-Pacific markets.
– For airlines, tariffs can affect fuel prices, aircraft parts, and route profitability, while global events quickly shift demand patterns. In such a low-margin, high-volume business, precision matters. When aircraft maintenance tariffs rose unexpectedly in certain regions, a major airline used revenue management tools to optimize pricing for affected routes and shift fleet utilization. CPQ tools helped sales teams quickly adjust corporate travel deals to reflect the cost impact.
In short, as global trends continue with volatility and dynamism, PROS is at the forefront in evolving through latest technological innovations in enabling companies to sell smarter, faster, and more profitably.
TS: What key strategies or pivotal moments have contributed to your steady and sustainable growth in your professional life?
SK : That’s a thoughtful question – and in all honesty, there was no single strategy that ensured steady growth throughout my career. Instead, my journey has unfolded in distinct phases, each shaped by a different mindset and approach, with certain pivotal moments and core values consistently guiding my path.
From the start, the values instilled by my parents – curiosity, optimism, and empathy – laid the foundation. These qualities helped me focus on fundamentals, stay resilient, and build genuine relationships. I’ve always been people-oriented and collaborative, which naturally led to opportunities to solve problems, grow my technical skills, learn from both success & failure.
In my early career, I focused on building strong technical and communication skills, staying curious about emerging technologies, and taking on challenges beyond my role. Engaging informally with managers and leaders helped me gain trust, feedback, and early leadership opportunities.
As I stepped into mid-level leadership, I became more intentional about driving team outcomes, making data-driven decisions, and expanding my network both inside and outside the organization. I learned the importance of aligning not just with personal goals, but also with broader organizational success – and stepping up when it mattered most.
At the executive level, the focus shifted to executive presence, the ability to influence at scale, and understanding the bigger picture behind every decision. I actively sought out mentors and sponsors, especially leaders two to three levels above me, who could provide guidance, advocacy, and honest feedback. I also focused on transforming teams and building organizational capability – from improving efficiency to launching new offerings.
One principle has remained constant throughout: true leadership is about developing others. I’ve found the most fulfillment in empowering teams mid-level leaders, investing in their growth, and helping them rise – because ultimately, your success as a leader is measured by how many others you help succeed.
TS: In your view, how should colleges and universities, esp. like UVCE, adapt to remain relevant in the age of AI and other technological advancements?
SK: Colleges like UVCE are at a pivotal moment. With the rapid rise of AI and emerging technologies, traditional curricula and limited industry-academia collaboration pose a real challenge to staying relevant. However, UVCE’s transition to a deemed university is a timely opportunity to drive meaningful transformation. In my view, here are the key areas that can make a significant difference:
* Modernizing Curriculum and Teaching Methods: AI should not remain the domain of computer science alone — AI literacy must be embedded across all disciplines. Interdisciplinary programs can help students understand how AI applies to real-world challenges in various fields.
* Deepening Industry and Research Collaboration: Stronger ties with industry are essential. By collaborating with companies to understand real-world skill needs, UVCE can align academic programs with future-ready capabilities.
* Investing in Infrastructure and Faculty Development: Upgrading to cloud-based systems and AI-ready platforms is vital for modern education delivery. Just as important is faculty upskilling — ensuring educators are trained in both the use of AI tools and the ethical dimensions of AI. Institutions must also develop and enforce clear ethical guidelines to address issues like bias, privacy, and responsible AI use.
In essence, for institutions like UVCE to thrive in the AI era, they must adopt a dynamic, future-forward mindset — moving from traditional knowledge transfer to fostering critical thinking, AI based hands-on problem-solving, and ethical AI fluency. This transformation demands not just curricular change, but also visionary leadership, strategic investment, and strong partnerships with industry and the broader community.
Leave a comment