In the high-pressure world of global retail, where even brief outages can disrupt sales and supply chains, the underlying technology infrastructure plays a critical role in day-to-day operations. While many organizations face challenges modernizing legacy systems without affecting business continuity, a small number of engineering leaders are tasked with carrying out these changes at scale.
One such leader is Hardeep Singh Tiwana, former Director of Hybrid Cloud Engineering at Gap Inc., whose work over more than two decades contributed to major infrastructure modernization efforts at the apparel company. With over 21 years of experience in enterprise infrastructure, Tiwana has worked at the intersection of hands-on engineering and large-scale technology strategy.
Addressing Mainframe Modernization Among Tiwana’s most sensitive assignments was Gap Inc.’s Mainframe Re-Hosting (MFRH) initiative. The project involved moving core IBM mainframe systems that support elements of the company’s global supply chain to a modern, Linux-based environment. In many large enterprises, such mainframe platforms are treated as critical legacy systems that are difficult to change without risk.
According to internal accounts, the re-hosting effort at Gap Inc. was carried out without significant disruption to production workloads. By maintaining continuity across retail and logistics operations during the transition, the initiative provided an example of how long-standing architectures can be updated while keeping essential services online.
Data Centre Consolidation and Cloud Economics Tiwana also played a central role in broader infrastructure changes aimed at improving efficiency. As part of a multi-year program, he contributed to the consolidation of three data centers into two and to Gap Inc.’s transition toward increased use of public cloud environments. The company has reported that these modernization and consolidation efforts—which Tiwana helped lead—resulted in more than 50 million dollars in cost savings over multiple years.
In parallel, Tiwana worked on standardizing automation and security practices. He authored and implemented core Chef automation frameworks that were used as a common reference point for Gap Inc.’s cloud platform. These frameworks supported areas such as Linux authentication, multi-factor administrative access, and secure file transfer processes for global engineering teams.
Recognition for Leadership in Infrastructure Over the course of his career at Gap Inc., Tiwana progressed from Principal Systems Engineer to Director of Hybrid Cloud Engineering. In these roles, he was responsible for helping align large-scale infrastructure projects with the operational needs of a global retailer serving millions of customers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Gap Inc.’s executive leadership formally recognized his contributions through the company’s Exceed Award, presented by Chief Information Officer Sally Gilligan, along with a personal note of commendation from the CEO. The acknowledgements cited the strategic importance of the infrastructure initiatives he helped lead.
Ongoing Influence on Retail Technology The systems modernized during Tiwana’s time at Gap Inc. continue to support core functions across the company’s retail and e-commerce platforms. From authentication services to elements of supply-chain infrastructure, the projects he worked on have played a role in sustaining international operations at enterprise scale.
