Sanjay Deshmukh leaves Elastic, joins OpenAI

The veteran tech leader has now joined OpenAI as Vice President of APAC Sales.

Sanjay Deshmukh is leaving Elastic after just a year and a half as Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). Desmukh joined the Search AI vendor in April 2025 from Snowflake and has been a pillar in growing the brand in the region.

He now joins OpenAI as Vice President of APAC Sales. In his new role, Deshmukh will lead OpenAI’s go-to-market business across the region, helping companies put OpenAI’s technology to work across their businesses.

His arrival comes as companies across the region move from exploring what AI can do to putting it to work for their employees and customers. He’ll report to Chief Revenue Officer Dali Rajic and work closely with leaders Kiran Mani, Oliver Jay and our regional teams to build on the foundations already in place.

“What drew me to OpenAI is the opportunity to help leaders and organizations translate the potential of AI into meaningful outcomes for their employees, customers, and businesses. That starts with understanding what matters most to each organization and applying AI where it can create the greatest impact,” he posted on LinkedIn.

A day earlier, Deskmukh announced his departure from Elastic on LinkedIn, Deskmukh stated that career impact is best measured by what one builds, the people influenced, and the relationships created along the way.

“As I close an important chapter at Elastic, I’m proud of what we built together,” he stated.

Deshmukh also thanked leaders at Elastic, including partners and customers for the trust, partnership, and shared ambition.

“One quote from Elastic’s founder, Shay Banon, has always stayed with me - You can be the best, and you can also be nice . That balance—ambition without ego, innovation with purpose, and excellence grounded in community—is at the heart of what makes Elastic special,” he added.

Deshmukh also stated that he is proud to have played a part in the journey and will be cheering for the team as Elastic continues to lead in Digital Resilience and as Elastic’s Context Engineering platform becomes an essential layer of the modern AI stack.

Prior to joining Elastic, Deshmukh had leadership roles at Snowflake for over three years and also spent over seven years at VMware leading the region. He also held roles at Citrix and SAP before that.

Deshmukh moves comes at an interesting time as news of another recently hired channel leader in the organization also departs just after a year of joining the company.

The Search AI Company recently announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2027 ended July 31, 2026, with total revenue at US$478 million, an increase of 15% year-over-year, as reported and on a constant currency basis.

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A previous version of this article has been updated.