Rajesh Nambiar has announced his resignation from his role as India Chairman and Managing Director of Cognizant. Following his departure, Nambiar is set to succeed Debjani Ghosh as the president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom). Nambiar’s new role will commence as Ghosh’s term concludes in November 2024.
Nambiar, who was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Cognizant India in September last year, will leave the position after a brief tenure. Before joining Cognizant, Nambiar was a member of Nasscom’s Executive Council and served as its chairperson in 2023. His extensive leadership experience includes stints at Ciena, IBM, and TCS.
Nasscom lauded Nambiar’s appointment, stating, “Nambiar is an industry leader having worked and led global teams at TCS, IBM, Ciena, and Cognizant. His leadership and strategic initiatives have been instrumental in positioning India’s tech sector as a global leader.”
Debjani Ghosh, the outgoing President of Nasscom, expressed confidence in Nambiar’s future leadership: “The tech sector is pivotal to India’s growth and Nasscom has played a key role in shaping India’s tech leadership globally. Leadership at Nasscom is fully empowered to carry forward the charter and I am confident that Rajesh will elevate it to even greater heights.”
In related news, Cognizant has named Rajesh Varrier as Nambiar’s successor. Effective October 1, 2024, Varrier will assume the role of Chairman and Managing Director, India. He will also serve as the Global Head of Operations starting September 2, 2024. Based in Bangalore, Varrier’s responsibilities will include overseeing operations, Delivery Excellence, workforce planning, and expansion efforts in India. He will report directly to Ravi Kumar S, the current Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant.
Ravi Kumar S commented on the transition: “The job of India Chair is deeply important to our culture and my years of working with Rajesh Varrier gives me great confidence that together, with our growing leadership team in India, we can continue to build upon our already strong foundation.”
Before joining Cognizant, Rajesh Varrier held several key positions, including EVP, Head of Global Services and Infosys Americas, and Global Head of Infosys’ Digital and Microsoft businesses. His career also includes roles as SVP of Digital Experience for the Microsoft business at Infosys, CIO and Digital Officer for Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, and founder of the analytics firm Activecubes. Varrier holds an undergraduate degree in Physics and a post-graduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai.