US-based IT services major Cognizant has announced the appointment of Rajesh Nambiar as the Chairman and Managing Director of India and a member of Cognizant’s Executive Committee effective November 9, 2020.
The announcement comes three months after former CMD Ramkumar Ramamoorthy resigned less than 10 months after taking over the post.
Cognizant said in a statement that Rajesh’s experience across general management, commercial, and delivery includes more than a dozen years with IBM and 18 years with Tata Consultancy Services.
At IBM, Rajesh was the General Manager and Global Leader for IBM’s Application Services Business, with oversight of an $8 billion global P&L. He also served on the board of IBM India and as a member of The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Executive Council while at IBM. He joins Cognizant from Ciena, a networking, systems, and software company, where he currently serves as Chairman and President of Ciena, India.
“I am honoured to be part of Cognizant and look forward to contributing to the company’s growth as a member of the Executive Committee. Cognizant’s technology and delivery capabilities in India provide an immense competitive advantage to the company and its clients. My priority is to build upon Cognizant’s rich legacy of innovation, industry leadership, and client-centric employee culture to help the company engineer modern businesses that improve everyday life,” Rajesh said.
“We are pleased to welcome Rajesh to Cognizant and our Executive Committee. In the repositioned and elevated role of the India Chairman and Managing Director, Rajesh will strengthen our brand positioning in India and enhance our relationships with relevant Indian government agencies, chambers of commerce, universities, the media, and key policy-making bodies, including NASSCOM,” Brian Humphries, CEO, Cognizant said in a statement.
Rajesh will also serve as the Executive Committee representative of Cognizant’s nearly 200,000 associates in India. “We are confident that his extensive industry and leadership experience will provide further momentum to our operations in India, which is a critical hub of Cognizant’s leading-edge delivery capabilities,” Brian added.