Cognizant announced that former Infosys president Ravi Kumar has been named the company’s new CEO, and a board member starting immediately.
Brian Humphries, who is leaving the company on March 15, is succeeded as CEO by Ravi Kumar.
Analysts had previously asserted that Cognizant’s multiyear underperformance required the Board to take action and called for a leadership change. Ravi Kumar had been passed over as a candidate for CEO at the time of the announcement of his hiring.
Surya Gummadi, a 24-year Cognizant veteran, will now fill the position that Cognizant previously said Kumar would hold as President of Cognizant Americas. Kumar had earlier been welcomed by Cognizant as President of Cognizant Americas. The business has revealed that Surya Gummadi has been appointed President of Cognizant Americas in connection with the CEO transfer.
Kumar joins Cognizant following a 20-year career at Infosys, where he held some leadership positions, including President from January 2016 to October 2022, according to a statement from the IT giant.
According to a statement from Cognizant, Kumar oversaw the Infosys Global Services Organization’s operations across all international industry sectors, directing service lines for data & analytics, consulting, technology, engineering, data & analytics, cloud and infrastructure, and enterprise package applications.
Kumar remarked, “It is an honor to join Cognizant, a company I have long respected for its committed client focus and its track record of innovation.”
“I have witnessed Cognizant fundamentally restructure its business by boosting operational discipline, enhancing client relationships, and extending its digital portfolio and capabilities. Cognizant is in a good position to expand, and I’m eager to help it realize its enormous potential for the benefit of our staff, customers, investors, and other stakeholders,” he added.
In Humphries’ words, “The accomplishments made by our team while I was CEO makes me proud. Our brand is more well-known, our portfolio is more robust, our client connections are more consultative, and we are better positioned to take advantage of our market’s rapidly expanding digital segments. The business is well-positioned to succeed. It was a privilege to guide our brilliant team members, and I wish Ravi and the leadership group the best of luck going forward.”
Additionally, the organization declared that Stephen J. Rohleder, a Cognizant Board member since March 2022, has been chosen to serve as Board Chair.
Michael Patsalos-Fox, the previous chair, will continue to serve as an independent director on the board. As part of the Board’s continuous Board refreshment process, Rohleder was appointed to the Board in March 2022. Over the previous three years, the Board has appointed three more independent directors.
