Cognizant Technology Solutions, the $17-billion IT company with a strong offshore presence in India, has appointed Rajesh Nambiar as Chairman and Managing Director of India and a member of Cognizant’s Executive Committee effective November 9, 2020. He replaces Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, who quit as CMD, Cognizant India, in July this year.

Nambiar joins Cognizant from Ciena, a networking, systems, and software company, where he currently serves as Chairman and President of India operations.

Nambiar’s general management, commercial, and delivery experience includes more than a dozen years with IBM and 18 years with Tata Consultancy Services. At IBM, he was the General Manager and Global Leader for IBM’s Application Services Business, with oversight of an $8-billion global P&L. He also served on the board of IBM India and as a member of Nasscom’s Executive Council while at IBM, says a Cognizant press release.

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Brian Humphries, CEO, Cognizant, said, Nambiar will strengthen the company’s brand positioning in India and enhance relationships with relevant Indian government agencies, chambers of commerce, universities, the media, and key policy-making bodies, including NASSCOM.

Nambiar will also serve as the Executive Committee representative of nearly two lakh associates in India. “We are confident that his extensive industry and leadership experience will provide further momentum to our operations in India, which is a critical hub of Cognizant’s leading-edge delivery capabilities,” he said.

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“My priority is to build upon Cognizant’s rich legacy of innovation, industry leadership, and client-centric employee culture to help the company engineer modern businesses that improve everyday life,” Nambiar said.