Explore the extraordinary journey of Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant.
In a candid conversation, Ravi Kumar S, a former nuclear scientist turned global CEO of Cognizant, shares insights into his remarkable journey of transformation.
From his formative years at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to diverse roles at Infosys, Ravi emphasizes the importance of curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to challenge the status quo.
As the CEO of Cognizant, he discusses the company’s future, opportunities for the IT sector, and the company’s strong commitment to nurturing talent in India. Excerpts:
Q. From a nuclear scientist to a global CEO, you have had an extraordinary journey of transformation. What have been some of your key intrinsic traits that sets you apart from others, and what have been the learnings?
It has been a journey of serendipity. The initial three years at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre laid down the foundational pillars of my life. It allowed me to stay curious and think big.
I ended up with diverse jobs all my life, distinctively different from the previous ones. This allowed me to remain curious, challenge the status quo – and stay comfortable in uncomfortable zones.
In my 20 years at Infosys, I was one of the few executives who moved around different roles. I built the global Oracle and CRM practices for Infosys. Later I headed the Hyderabad center, and then was made the group head for the insurance, healthcare, and cards and payments unit. I also led the global delivery organization in the manufacturing industry group and served as president at Infosys until October 2022.
I have always thrived on new roles and opportunities and translated them into impactful and meaningful outcomes.
Q. What have been your ingredients of success over all these years?
I still have much to accomplish and the headroom is very high. There are three qualities that have been a fundamental part of me.
Anything that I take up, I translate that paranoia to positive energy and make it work. I punch above my weight, translating and driving impactful outcomes.
I thrive on vulnerability and take it as a strength rather than a weakness. If you are vulnerable, you are also very self-aware. Because of this awareness, I have been able to understand my weaknesses or areas that I can do better at and turn them into strengths.
I have always been hardworking and will relentlessly pursue anything that I take up. All these traits have kept me self-aware and realistic.
Q. As CEO what is your toolbox for societal change?
I believe that organizations are the biggest platforms for societal impact. We have a decades-long tradition of serving communities through both Cognizant Outreach as well as the focused work of our Foundation in India. I feel privileged to be a part of creating an impact through the unwavering commitment of our people to help improve everyday lives, and we are making measurable progress towards our goals.
Q. You have a great deal of work ahead. How are you encouraging a growth mindset across the company?
My playbook to stay relevant and create a growth mindset at Cognizant will be driven from listening, learning and building on insights gathered from my meetings with clients and our people.
We are building on a strong foundation; we have a large base of global clients with whom we have enduring strategic partnerships. At the same time, we are working with our partner ecosystem, building an innovation network, industrializing delivery, and leveraging our delivery teams, market consortiums and influencers.
I am just as dedicated to building a modern workplace to help the company respond quickly to an ever-changing world. We are implementing a hybrid work model that strikes a balance between how clients want to interact with our teams and how associates can achieve the flexibility they want along with the opportunity to advance their careers.
We have simplified our operating model and established several new practice areas to better serve our clients through integrated solutions and delivery. Our drive for simplification and specialization extends to operating with fewer layers and moving more decision-making to those associates closest to our clients.
We plan to continue strengthening our portfolio of digital services by embedding the latest advances in AI and automation.
A growth mindset also requires diversity of thought and perspective. We believe in having multiethnic, multigenerational and multigeographic teams. It is the best way to challenge established ways of thinking and keep innovating. We are resolved to accelerate our progress in building a diverse and inclusive workplace and to place special emphasis on hiring and retaining women in leadership roles.
Q. What is your outlook for the IT sector and what are the opportunities for Cognizant?
I would say it’s a very dichotomous environment. When I was growing up with this sector, enterprises across the world were globalizing and technology was seen as an enabler of business. If I look at this swim lane today, some of these companies are settling down to a pre-pandemic growth rate in an uncertain macro environment and focusing on being cost-conscious in their operations. We can partner with these clients and deliver meaningful benefits through highly productive AI-enabled, human capital-led solutions.
As a longtime student of technology and IT services trends, I believe we are in a golden era of technology and that software is the new alchemy for nearly every business, industry and country. I see a growing number of opportunities to co-create with clients, deeply embed digital technologies into the core of their businesses and help them build the technology muscle they want for the future.
Q. What is your India strategy and how are you harnessing talent in India?
India is at the heart of who we are and is at the center of our strategy. Over 70% of our associates are based in India. We do believe that India will be the office of the world for the next decade.
My unwavering commitment lies in ensuring our teams receive training, upskilling opportunities, and consistent professional growth.
We continue to invest in a best-in-class learning infrastructure complemented by partnerships with global educational institutions and technology partners. We provoke the entrepreneurial spirit of our talent by exposing them to cutting-edge upskilling and leadership programs, so they can stay ahead of the curve.
In 2022, each associate in India dedicated an average of 73 hours to training sessions, 131,000 developed proficiencies in at-least one digital skill while 28,000 earned valuable industry credentials.
Q. How are you building an effective pipeline from which you will draw tomorrow’s talent?
With our brand firmly established and respected among educational institutions in India, we continue to attract talent not only from major cities but also from emerging IT hubs across the country.
Growing up in India, I know the invaluable role education has played in where I am today. We are investing in digital skilling of our people more than at any other time for jobs of the future. We have a huge focus on diversity and inclusivity because it promotes innovation, creativity, and empathy in ways that homogeneous environments simply cannot achieve. And if I look into the future, I believe that responsible development of technologies such as Generative AI requires cognitive diversity to help humanize AI and give it more nuanced judgment.
Reskilling in our communities is very close to my heart. I think it’s the biggest strength as a company. I am especially proud of our outreach volunteers who put in an extraordinary number of hours to bring digital learning and skilling to communities to build tomorrow’s tech talent.
