Following Rajesh Nambiar's departure to become Nasscom president, IT company Cognizant announced the hiring of Rajesh Varrier as global head of operations and India Chairman and Managing Director.

Nasscom said in a separate announcement that Nambiar has been appointed as its president-designate, succeeding Debjani Ghosh when her term ends in November 2024. Notably, Nambiar served in the Nasscom Executive Council before being elected Chairperson in 2023. Nasscom emphasized that his leadership and strategic efforts had helped position India's technology sector as a global leader.

According to a Cognizant press statement detailing the top-level changes at the IT services business, Varrier's responsibilities would encompass operations, delivery excellence, workforce planning, India leadership council, expansion, and other critical roles.

He will offer regional leadership for Cognizant's India-based workforce, with a focus on driving corporate transformation programs and representing the firm as it implements its growth strategy across the nation, according to the IT giant.

"Cognizant today announced Rajesh Varrier's appointment as Global Head of Operations, beginning September 2, 2024. He will also be named Chairman & Managing Director, India, effective October 1, 2024, when Rajesh Nambiar quits Cognizant to become president of Nasscom, according to the business.

Varrier will be an executive vice president of Cognizant, reporting to CEO Ravi Kumar S. Varrier will be situated in Bangalore, India. "Prior to joining Cognizant, Varrier served as EVP, Head of Global Services and Infosys Americas, as well as Global Head of Infosys' Digital and Microsoft businesses," according to the release.

He formerly worked as SVP of Digital Experience for Infosys' Microsoft business. Varrier was the CIO and Digital Officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance before joining Infosys. He also founded the analytics business Activecubes. He earned an undergraduate degree in Physics and a postgraduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

Nasscom issued a second announcement announcing Nambiar's nomination as its new president designate. "Nambiar is an industry expert who has worked and led worldwide teams for TCS, IBM, Ciena, and Cognizant...His leadership and strategic efforts have helped position India's technology sector as a worldwide leader", Nasscom explained.

According to the NASSCOM announcement, Nambiar stated, "This is truly an exciting time for the industry, as we focus on the accelerated transition to AI-first companies, making talent our most valuable competitive advantage, driving growth, and increasing investments in IP creation and R&D." I am both delighted and humbled to accept this chance to work with all stakeholders to improve the capabilities of India's technology sector."

Debjani Ghosh, current president of Nasscom, stated that the technology sector is critical to India's economy and that the IT industry organization has played an important part in developing India's tech leadership worldwide.

"Nasscom's leadership is fully empowered to carry on the charter, and I am certain that Rajesh will take it to even higher levels. "I welcome him and look forward to working with him," she stated.

As part of its ongoing attempts to institutionalize itself through suitable structures, procedures, and processes, Nasscom formed a search committee to choose its next president. The committee was led by Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO of WNS, and comprised Harish Mehta, Som Mittal, Krishnakumar Natarajan, and Sindhu Gangadharan.

Keshav R Murugesh, Past Chairperson of Nasscom and Head of the Nasscom Search  Committee stated, "We are delighted to welcome Rajesh as President Designate and thank Debjani Ghosh for her phenomenal contribution to the industry". He explained that the association's principal goal had been to find an India evangelist who could not only sustain but also expedite this transition. "We are confident that Rajesh's leadership will further propel the tech industry's growth trajectory, expand its footprint in new markets, and strengthen India's position as a global technology leader, even amid macroeconomic uncertainties", he commented.