Tim Hortons – Middle East has appointed Vinay Kumar as its new Head of Information Technology, entrusting him with the leadership of the company’s end-to-end technology function across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. In this role, Kumar will oversee technology operations across six Middle East countries, leading portfolios spanning enterprise applications, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, eCommerce platforms, and IT support services. He will be responsible for defining and executing the regional IT strategy and roadmap, managing technology investments and budgets, driving digital transformation initiatives, and ensuring secure, resilient, and uninterrupted technology operations.
Based in the Middle East, Kumar will work closely with regional business leaders, global technology teams, and external partners to modernise digital platforms, improve system reliability, enhance cybersecurity frameworks, and streamline business processes. A key part of his mandate will include adopting new digital platforms, reducing operational and technology risks, and building a high-performing regional IT organisation to support Tim Hortons’ ambitious growth plans across the GCC.
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Kumar brings with him more than two decades of cross-industry technology leadership experience spanning quick service restaurants (QSR), FMCG, retail, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. Most recently, he served as Chief Information Officer at McDonald’s India – North & East, where he led the complete technology function from June 2020 to January 2026. During his tenure, he spearheaded large-scale digital transformation programmes covering enterprise applications, infrastructure modernisation, cybersecurity, and eCommerce enablement.
At McDonald’s, Kumar was instrumental in strengthening digital commerce capabilities, improving IT service management maturity, enhancing cybersecurity architecture, and ensuring high availability and performance of mission-critical systems across a geographically distributed restaurant network. He also played a central role in vendor management, enterprise platform rollouts, and the development of high-performing technology teams aligned to business priorities.
In parallel, Kumar also served as Group CIO at MMG, overseeing technology strategy across multiple business verticals including food and beverages, oil and gas, and offshore engineering services. His role involved building shared technology platforms, improving governance frameworks, and enabling digital efficiencies across complex, asset-intensive business operations.
Earlier in his career, Kumar held senior leadership roles at PepsiCo FOBO (Nectar Beverages) as CIO, where he drove digital and analytics-led transformation across beverage manufacturing and distribution operations. His professional journey also includes leadership stints at Bata India, Flaktwoods, and Flyjac Logistics, giving him deep exposure to large-scale retail operations, ERP modernisation, manufacturing IT, and supply chain digitisation.
A certified Digital Transformation professional from IIM Ahmedabad, Kumar is known for his structured execution approach and ability to align technology strategy with business outcomes. His contributions to enterprise IT transformation have earned him several industry recognitions, including being named Emerging IT Professional of the Year and being featured on the front cover of CIO Insider for his work in manufacturing technology innovation.
