India`s TCS CEO Gopinathan to step down, veteran Krithivasan to take over
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Rajesh Gopinathan, chief executive officer of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), will resign, India's largest IT services provider said on Thursday, just a year into his second five-year term at the helm of the company.
The company named K Krithivasan as CEO-designate, effective March 16, and said he would take over as CEO and managing director in the next financial year, subject to shareholders' approval. He joined TCS in 1989 and has held various leadership roles in the company.
The move comes as the Indian IT industry faces a challenging macroeconomic environment in its key markets of Europe and the United States while also coming under renewed focus due to its big exposure to the U.S. banking sector, which is currently experiencing a financial crisis.
The company said Gopinathan — who was re-appointed last year as the Indian IT behemoth's CEO till 2027 — would leave TCS in September to pursue other interests.
"While we expect transition to be smooth, this is sentimentally negative as this is the first CEO resignation at TCS since its incorporation," Axis Capital analysts said in a note.
Gopinathan has been with TCS since 2001 and has held multiple leadership positions, including that of chief financial officer.
Under his leadership, TCS shares have nearly tripled in value, revenue has almost doubled and profit has risen about 60%, as of last quarter.
Elsewhere, rival Infosys is also facing top level attrition, with five senior level retirements or exits over last one-and-a-half years.
There are also movements within the IT industry. While Cognizant Technology Solutions appointed former Infosys President S Ravi Kumar as CEO this January, Tech Mahindra Ltd recently named another Infosys veteran Mohit Joshi as its CEO.
