Genpact CEO 'Tiger' Tyagarajan to retire in February, BK Kalra set to take over

Tyagarajan was appointed as the CEO in 2011 and led Genpact through a period of tremendous growth.

Genpact announced that president and CEO NV ‘Tiger' Tyagarajan’ is set to retire on February 9, 2024, and the company’s board has appointed Balkrishan ‘BK’ Kalra to take over the top role. This comes at a time when the IT services and BPM sectors are seeing a slew of top leadership changes in the recent quarters.

Having joined Genpact in 1999, Kalra current role is that of global business leader for financial services and consumer & healthcare segments at the company. He takes over and joins the company’s board on February 9. Tyagarajan too will continue as a member of the board of directors.

Testimonials

Kalra comes with over 30 years of experience in helping companies grow from early stage to large, at globally competitive enterprises. At Genpact, he has served in a variety of increasing leadership roles across the company. “He leads Genpact’s global transformation efforts across the banking, capital markets, consumer goods, retail, life sciences and healthcare industries, helping companies better leverage technology and AI-enabled solutions,” the company shared.

James Madden, Chairman of Genpact’s Board of Directors, said, “We are delighted to announce BK as Genpact’s next CEO, a leader with a proven track record of delivering business results and fostering deep client relationships.”

“In planning for Tiger’s retirement, the Board undertook a robust process, assessing a number of internal and external candidates. In the end, BK stood out as the natural successor. He understands the importance of investing in emerging trends and technologies with a particular focus on Genpact’s efforts around advanced analytics and AI-enabled solutions. BK’s strategic vision and deep understanding of our clients and business is exactly what Genpact needs as we enter this new chapter,” Madden explained.

Kalra said, “I am honored to assume the CEO role and appreciate the confidence and trust that Tiger and the Board have placed in me.”

Tyagarajan’s journey

Tyagarajan was appointed as the CEO in 2011 and led Genpact through a period of tremendous growth. During his tenure time, he helped transform the company into an industry leader with more than $4.3 billion in annual 2022 revenue, leveraging data and technology to better serve its clients. He has been with Genpact for nearly 19 years.

“On behalf of the Board and the entire organization, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for Tiger’s leadership of Genpact over the last 12 years. Tiger has built a strong, diverse, and global team, focused on a clear set of prioritized verticals, geographic markets, and services. We look forward to his continued contributions on the Board,” Madden said.

Tyagarajan added, “Leading Genpact has been the highlight of my career, and I would like to thank the entire team for their support. The world is rapidly changing around us, and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved, staying ahead of the curve as a true partner to our clients around the world, empowering our employees, and transforming the communities in which we live and operate. BK has been an integral part of Genpact’s success, and I am confident that, under his leadership, we are well positioned for the next phase of our journey and future growth.”

Industry-wide trend

Tyagarajan is not the first IT company CEO to step down this year. There have been CEO changes at almost all the top IT companies in 2023, and this is happening as the sector steers through a challenging macro environment and demand uncertainty.

Tech Mahindra's CEO CP Gurnani too is set to retire on December 19, 2023. Country's largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) appointed K Krithivasan as the new CEO as Rajesh Gopinathan quit the company in a sudden decision. Debashis Chatterjee was earlier announced as the CEO of the joint LTIMindtree entity.

Infosys' Mohit Joshi is the CEO designate at Tech Mahindra and former Infosys president Ravi Kumar S was appointed as the global CEO of Cognizant in January 2023.