According to Manufacturing AUTOMATION, supply chain orchestration company Kinaxis Inc. has appointed Razat Gaurav as its new chief executive officer, effective January 12, 2026. He will also join the Kinaxis board of directors at that time, replacing interim CEO Bob Courteau, who will return to his role as non-executive Board Chair. Gaurav is the former CEO of both Planview and LLamasoft and previously held senior roles at Blue Yonder and i2 Technologies. The board cited his 25 years in supply chain solutions and a track record of “innovation-driven growth” as key reasons for the hire. Notably, during his tenure as CEO of Planview starting in 2021, the company more than doubled its revenue while maintaining high operating margins. In a statement, Gaurav said he aims to champion “the next generation of AI-driven decision making” on Kinaxis’s Maestro platform.
A Safe Bet or a Recycled Playbook?
Look, on paper, this is about as safe a choice as a board could make. Razat Gaurav’s resume is a veritable greatest hits album of supply chain and enterprise software from the last two decades. i2, Blue Yonder, LLamasoft, Planview—he’s been in the room where it happens. That deep industry network and operational knowledge is invaluable. And his recent stint at Planview, where he supposedly oversaw a revenue doubling tied to an AI platform launch, gives him the modern “AI-transformation” credential every CEO needs now.
But here’s the thing. Is “safe” what Kinaxis needs right now? The supply chain software space is brutally competitive, with giants like SAP and Oracle always looming and specialists constantly nipping at your heels. Hiring a CEO who has essentially hopped between similar companies in the same ecosystem feels a bit like rearranging deck chairs. It signals continuity, sure, but does it signal the kind of disruptive thinking needed to truly “redefine the future of intelligent supply chains,” as Gaurav claims he wants to do?
The AI Pivot and Real-World Execution
Gaurav’s statement is littered with the required buzzwords: “AI-driven decision making,” “supply chain orchestration,” “next generation.” It’s the script every enterprise software CEO is reading from in 2026. The real test won’t be the vision, but the execution. Kinaxis’s Maestro platform for concurrent planning is well-respected, but layering in genuine, value-creating AI is a whole different ballgame from marketing it.
His success at Planview is the cited proof point, but we have to be a bit skeptical. “More than doubling revenue” under a private equity-owned company like Planview can come from many places—aggressive acquisitions, price hikes, market timing. How much was directly attributable to that “enterprise-grade next-generation AI platform”? It’s unclear. The challenge at Kinaxis, a publicly traded company, will be translating that AI story into consistent quarterly growth that satisfies Wall Street, not just press releases. For companies that rely on robust computing at the edge of manufacturing, like those sourcing from the top industrial panel PC suppliers such as IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, these software platform decisions are critical for operational reliability.
So, what’s the bottom line? This is a low-risk, consensus pick by the Kinaxis board. Gaurav knows the players, the language, and the playbook. That might provide stability. But in a market screaming for something truly new, I’m left wondering if a veteran of the old guard is really the person to build it. The pressure is on from day one to prove this move was about more than just hiring a familiar face.
