IT services cos navigate a year of changes at top

livemint.com:

Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. Cognizant appointed former Infosys executive S. Ravi Kumar as CEO following the dismissal of Brian Humphries in January.

According to a Mint analysis, under Humphries’ leadership, Cognizant struggled, reporting just 0.9% compounded quarterly revenue growth between 1 January 2019 and 30 December 2022. During the period, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, and HCL Technologies Ltd achieved growth rates of 2.4%, 2.8%, and 2.4%, respectively. High attrition rates, persistent senior leadership turnover, coupled with a 25.7% decline in share prices, compelled the Cognizant board to take action, according to an earlier Mint story.

Mumbai-headquarter TCS witnessed a rare change of guard in March, when the incumbent, Rajesh Gopinathan, abruptly decided to step down, six months after the company announced his second five-year term in October 2021. Differences in leadership style and certain strategic management decisions led to tensions between Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and Gopinathan, prompting India’s largest IT services firm to name company veteran K. Krithivasan as a replacement.

Birlasoft, part of the $2 billion CK Birla Group, was the third company opting for an external candidate to revive the mid-tier IT services firm’s fortunes in December 2022. In May 2019, it elevated its chief operating officer Dharmender Kapoor as the CEO. But a compounded annual revenue growth of 5.8% over the last four years prompted the board to hire former Wipro executive Angan Guha to scale up growth.