Incoming TCS CEO K Krithivasan to take over on June 1, 2023

Incoming TCS CEO K Krithivasan

Incoming Tata Consultancy Services Chief Executive Officer K Krithivasan will take over the post on June 1, with outgoing CEO Rajesh Gopinathan staying on till September 15 to help with the transition.

"…we wish to inform that the Board of Directors of the Company have, at its meeting held today, appointed Mr. K. Krithivasan as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Company to take over from Mr. Rajesh Gopinathan with effect from June 1, 2023, subject to approval of the shareholders," TCS said in a filing with the exchanges.

"Krithi and I are working closely to ensure that the leadership transition over the next few months is smooth and seamless to all our stakeholders, and that TCS is well positioned to capture the opportunities ahead," Gopinathan said in a statement.

Hours after being named as the CEO designate last month, 58-year-old Krithivasan said there would be no great organisational or strategic change on the anvil for the company after he takes over.

Gopinathan told the press that this transition is standard for the company, and that they will be meeting clients over the next six to eight weeks.

"So first half I'm primary he's shadow, second half he's primary I'm shadow. Having said that, I don't expect the transition to be rocket science, but it needs to be done diligently...We're now going to be traveling for the next six to eight weeks, meeting with customers, meeting with our field teams. That's been planned and then we're going to be executing on that," he said.

On changes after taking over, Krithivasan said they are not in a hurry to do any structural or organisational change. "We will talk to the associates, to our customers, we will see what is required and do whatever is required at the time," he said.

Krithivasan is a TCS lifer, having been with the company for 34 years. Before his elevation, Krithivasan was the global head of the company’s BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) business group, the largest vertical for the company which accounts for 35-40 percent of the revenue.

Krithivasan has been a CEO waiting in the wings for a while now, having been one of the contenders even when Gopinathan was appointed in 2017.

Sources previously told Moneycontrol that Krithivasan has built a reputation for being great at execution. While Gopinathan is an intellectual, brilliant thinker and strategic leader, Krithivasan can execute any blueprint, they said.

Chirajeet Sengupta, partner, global technology services, at consulting firm Everest Group, had said at that time of the incoming CEO’s appointment that Krithivasan is a very credible leader.

“He [Krithivasan] well-liked, well-respected, and well-known by clients. He's been in the trenches. He's been with clients for pretty much his entire career,” he said. “Rajesh was the CFO becoming a CEO, whereas Krithi has been a business unit leader. I think that is an important distinction to make when you think of somebody becoming the CEO of an organisation,” he added.