IT major Cognizant sees two more top level exits

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Teaneck-based Cognizant sees two more senior executives Arun Baid and Dan Smith leave the firm, according to sources familiar with the development. The exits are the latest in a series of key executives who left the company since CEO Brian Humphries took a major restructuring effort in 2019.

Baid was a Senior Vice President at Cognizant where he led the Global delivery for banking and financial services (BFS) and insurance. He started his journey with Cognizant in 2002 as Director and Delivery Partner, BFS. Banking and financial services is one of the key revenue generators for the firm.

Smith was heading global chief security officer and joined the company in 2013 from JP Morgan Chase. He is based out of the US. According to sources aware of the development, he announced his intention to retire recently after serving as chief security officer for the past three years.

Alicia Lynch, who joined the firm in July, will be succeeding Smith as the chief security officer and will lead the Corporate Security team. This is one of the key roles in the company given that the company was also subjected to ransomware attacks last year.

The company did not respond to Moneycontrol’s query on reason for Baid’s departure, impact the exits have on business, and the reason for the continued exit on top.

Other executives who resigned since Humphries took over include senior vice presidents Jaideep Poondir, Rajesh Balaji, and Vinayambika Kidiyur, Archana Ramanakumar and Vikash Gaur. Former Cognizant India head Ramkumar Ramamoorthy and Global Delivery Head Pradeep Shilige, who left the firm last year, were both Cognizant veterans.

Sources in the know said that the company continues to hire across levels and roles strengthening their leadership across key businesses.

But increased attrition is hurting companies’ business. The company's attrition rate stood at 21 percent for the quarter ending March 2021. During the earnings call in May, Humphries said that the company was forced to let go of new business due to its inability to hire talent. It is now putting in place measures that include training, quarterly promotions, and job rotations to provide more opportunities for growth and stanch attrition.