Cognizant appoints ex Infosys president Ravi Kumar as new CEO

New Jersey-headquartered IT services company Cognizant with a large employee base in India has appointed Ravi Kumar S as the new CEO with immediate effect, replacing Brian Humpries.

Ravi Kumar joined Cognizant in October 2022 as President of Americas after spending two decades at Infosys. The outgoing CEO Brian Humpries, who joined the company in 2019, will remain as special advisor till March 2023.

In his long career at Infosys, Ravi Kumar eventually became the president in January 2016 and was there until October 2022, heading multiple roles.

The change in leadership at Cognizant comes as a sudden development, however, there was a talk about replacing the CEO, given the company’s below-par performance.

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On the change in leadership, Stephen J Rohleder, Chair of the Board said, “As a proven leader with deep experience developing global talent and building a culture of success, we believe Ravi is the right person to take Cognizant into its next phase of growth. He brings world-class expertise in consulting, process, and technology transformation as well as demonstrated success building businesses.”

On his appointment, Ravi Kumar said, “Cognizant is well-positioned for growth, and I'm excited to unlock the company's significant potential for our employees, clients, investors, and other stakeholders."

The company also announced that Stephen J Rohleder, a member of Cognizant's Board since March 2022, has been elected Chair of the Board. Former Chair Michael Patsalos-Fox will remain on the Board as an independent director.

Cognizant, which competes against companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro, has faced revenue challenges in the recent past. It saw a sequential decline in revenue for the July-September quarter of 2022 and cut down its guidance for the second time.

For 2022, the Company expects fourth quarter and full-year revenue of approximately $4.8 billion and $19.4 billion, respectively, compared to prior expectations of $4.72-$4.77 billion for the fourth quarter and $19.3 billion for the full year.