Cognizant hires Ravi Kumar, former president of Infosys, as CEO

IT multinational company Cognizant announced on Thursday that Ravi Kumar has been appointed as the new chief executive officer. His predecessor, former CEO Brain Humphries, will assume the role of a special advisor until March 15 to facilitate a smooth transition of power, the company stated. Cognizant’s performance in recent years has been underwhelming, and the changes have come at a time when the American IT giant’s board is seeking to reverse its fortunes. Previously, Cognizant had appointed Kumar President of Cognizant Americas, a role which will now be fulfilled by Surya Gummadi, a seasoned professional who has served 24 years at the organization.

Ravi Kumar stated that he was honoured to join Cognizant, a company he has long held in high esteem for its unwavering commitment to clients, and innovation. Kumar had an illustrious career spanning 20 years at Infosys, where he fulfilled various leadership roles. The American organisation’s Chair of Board, Stephen J. Rohleder, praised Kumar’s expertise in consulting and technology, in addition to his business-building acumen. He’s confident that the new CEO will fortify Cognizant’s portfolio of in-demand solutions and aid international expansion by seizing new opportunities and scaling new heights.

At Infosys, Kumar shouldered numerous responsibilities overlooking operations of various segments like consulting, technology services, data analytics, cloud infrastructure, digital transformation, and enterprise application management. Kumar’s educational qualifications include an engineering degree from Shivaji University in Maharashtra and an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management in Orissa. As per his LinkedIn profile, prior to his MBA, Kumar worked at the Baba Atomic Research Centre as a scientist. He joined Infosys in 2002 and worked at its Hyderabad office before relocating to Manhattan, New York City in 2014.