Sushanth Tharappan to be Infosys' new HR head, replaces Richard Lobo

Sushanth Tharappan and Richard Lobo

In the second change at the top of the human resources (HR) department this year at Infosys, Sushanth Tharappan will replace Richard Lobo as head of HR at the company, sources told Moneycontrol.

Lobo, who has been in the position since 2015, will move on to a special projects team under Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh, sources said.

Tharappan has been the head of Infosys’ leadership institute since 2019, and according to his LinkedIn profile, he is responsible for succession planning and executive development. Tharappan has a BSc from St Aloysius College and an MBA from Mangalore University.

He has been with the IT services firm since 2000 in a variety of roles, including global head for talent acquisition, head of HR for Products, Platforms and Solutions and Chief People Officer at Edgeverve.

Lobo also joined Infosys in 2000 and headed HR for some industry practices. He is an alumnus of Xavier’s Institute of Management and a mechanical engineer from the Manipal Institute of Technology.

Infosys did not comment on the appointment.

The change in guard comes at a time the HR function of IT services players has been in focus, as companies look to focus on pyramidisation and look to strike a balance with a workforce that continues to work in a hybrid manner in a challenging demand environment.

Tharappan taking over as the HR boss is the second such change at Infosys after Shaji Mathew took over as global head of HR in March following Krish Shankar’s retirement.

Mathew’s appointment came after former HR group head Krishnamurthy Shankar retired on March 21. Mathew, an Infosys veteran of 31 years, took over the next day. He was formerly the head of Infosys’ Mysore centre.