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Cognizant Technology Solutions has announced
that founder-chairman and CEO, Kumar Mahadeva, is retiring, and
that Lakshmi Narayanan has been named CEO, and will continue to
serve as president. Narayanan has also been elected to Cognizant’s
Board of directors.
Francisco D’Souza, previously senior vice
president of North American and European operations and business
development, has been promoted to chief operating officer, a title
previously held by Narayanan. Gordon Coburn, who continues as CFO,
has been promoted to executive vice president and has assumed the
additional responsibilities of administration. John Klein, a Board
member since 1998, has been appointed non-executive chairman.
Mahadeva, who is retiring as chairman and CEO
after 10 years of service to the company, will remain with Cognizant
through April 1, 2004 to assist in completing the transition in
leadership. “Since founding Cognizant 10 years ago, we have
grown from a 50 person in-house development shop to a 9,000 person
global IT leader,” said Mahadeva. “I am proud to have
led Cognizant’s growth to this point, and to leave Lakshmi
with a strong platform for future growth. Over the last several
years, we have built a world-class management team. As a member
of this team, Lakshmi has already played an integral role in the
company’s success, and I am confident in his ability to lead
Cognizant’s next phase of growth.”
“I am honoured to have been appointed to
lead Cognizant as we continue to execute on our successful strategy,”
said Lakshmi Narayanan, president and CEO of Cognizant. “Over
the last few years, we have broadened our management team by recruiting
and promoting key people in our client service and delivery organisations,
creating the foundation for Francisco, Gordon and me to lead the
company forward. This leadership team, which has worked together
for seven years, has played a key role in formulating and executing
the strategy that has made Cognizant the fastest-growing company
in offshore IT services.”
In addition to his current role in leading the
Company’s North American and European services delivery and
client relationship management platforms, D’Souza, COO, assumes
responsibility for Cognizant’s India-based delivery organisation.
“We continue to build the facilities, processes
and systems required to meet the strong demand from our clients
and to leverage our infrastructure as we grow,” said Gordon
Coburn, CFO. “Based on ongoing discussions with clients about
their plans for leveraging Cognizant’s capabilities next year
and the continuing strength of our sales pipeline, we believe that
2004 will be another year of industry-leading growth for Cognizant.”
Narayanan, 50, has been instrumental in formulating
Cognizant’s strategy and building the company’s delivery
capabilities in India, where he will continue to be based. He has
more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry, including ten
years managing divisions and business units in Europe, India, and
the United States.
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