An exclusive interview with Mr. Narinder Kumar, CEO and Co Founder of TO THE NEW.

As a visionary leader and co-founder of TO THE NEW, Narinder Kumar has played a pivotal role in shaping the company into a global digital technology services powerhouse.

With deep expertise in driving large-scale digital transformation, he has built an organization known for innovation, agility, and a strong people-first culture in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

What inspired you to co-found TO THE NEW, and what problem in the digital/tech space were you aiming to solve at the time?

When we started TO THE NEW, we saw a huge gap between what businesses needed to compete in a digital-first world and what traditional IT services firms were offering. Enterprises wanted agility, product-thinking, and speed to market - yet most providers were stuck in legacy delivery models. The inspiration was to create a company that married deep engineering expertise with a startup-like DNA. The vision was simple: to help global brands ‘be new’ by embracing digital transformation at pace and scale.

How would you describe TO THE NEW’s core offerings, and what differentiates the company from traditional IT services providers?

We are a digital technology services company that partners with enterprises to design, build, and run digital products and platforms. Our offerings span Product Engineering, Cloud & DevOps, Data & AI, Digital Experiences and Digital Marketing services. What differentiates us is our product mindset, agility, and people-first culture. Unlike traditional IT service providers, we don’t just ‘deliver projects’ - we co-create outcomes, combining deep tech expertise with business understanding. That’s why clients see us as strategic partners rather than vendors.

How is TO THE NEW leveraging advanced technologies like AI, ML, Cloud, and Data Engineering for its clients?

We believe advanced technologies should solve real business problems. For instance, we help clients harness AI & ML for hyper-personalized customer experiences, predictive insights, and automation. Our Data Engineering teams build modern data platforms that turn raw data into business value. On Cloud, we are helping enterprises migrate, modernize, and run mission-critical workloads securely and efficiently. It’s not about using buzzwords - it’s about ensuring technology drives measurable impact for our clients.

TO THE NEW has expanded globally across key markets. What has been your strategy for international growth?

From day one, we were clear about building a global company from India. Our strategy has been threefold:

  • Deep focus on chosen markets like the US, ANZ, Middle East, and India, rather than spreading too thin.
  • Investing in local presence with offices and leadership teams close to our clients.
  • Delivering excellence from India with strong engineering teams, while blending it with local cultural understanding.

This dual-shore model has helped us win the trust of Fortune 500 companies as well as digital-first enterprises worldwide.

You often highlight People-First as a core value at TO THE NEW. How do you ensure a people-centric culture in a fast-scaling tech company?

Our people, whom we fondly call ‘Newers’, are at the heart of TO THE NEW. We believe that happy employees create happy clients, and that philosophy has guided us from the very beginning. We’re proud to be a 9-time Great Place to Work certified company, which reflects the consistency of our people-first culture.

We’ve built this culture around transparency, continuous learning, and recognition. Initiatives like ‘Knowledge Meets’ encourage peer-to-peer learning and cross-pollination of ideas. Our People Manager Program ensures leaders are equipped to nurture teams with empathy and effectiveness. Every Newer also has access to mentors within the organization, creating a strong support system for both personal and professional growth. By prioritizing equitable people practices and actively incorporating employee feedback, we fuel a continuous cycle of creative problem-solving and groundbreaking ideas.

As we continue to scale, these practices ensure that our culture not only stays intact but becomes stronger. For us, being people-first isn’t just a value, it’s the foundation that enables us to deliver excellence for our clients and build an institution that inspires.

What is your long-term vision for TO THE NEW - both as a company and as a disruptor in the global digital services ecosystem?

Our long-term vision is to be the most admired digital technology services company in the world - one that helps enterprises navigate disruption, innovate at speed, and create lasting value. We want to redefine what an IT services company stands for: Agile, Product-led, People-first, and Globally respected.

A big part of this vision is Generative AI. For us, GenAI is part of our DNA. We’ve embedded it into the way we work, from accelerating code and automating documentation to strengthening QA, cloud operations, and data insights. We’ve also built a GenAI-first culture, with a Center of Excellence, continuous learning, and innovation programs that bring new ideas to life.

We are also creating industry-specific GenAI solutions that transform sectors like finance, healthcare, and media. But more importantly, our vision goes beyond growth. It’s about building an institution that inspires clients, employees, and the industry to embrace this new era of human-centered AI and digital disruption.

What advice would you give to upcoming entrepreneurs and tech leaders who want to build global businesses from India?

First, think global from day one - India is a great place to build, but the world is your market. Second, stay close to your people - culture and teams will define your success more than capital or technology. Third, be patient yet bold. Building a global business takes time, but don’t be afraid to take calculated risks. And lastly, keep learning. Technology evolves fast, and the humility to learn continuously will keep you ahead.

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