Capgemini executive Salil Parekh the new CEO of Infosys
Former CEO for Financial Services at Capgemini, Salil Parekh, has experienced yet another major development in his consulting career. Parekh has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Indian IT and consulting giants Infosys, effective from the start of next year.
Indian IT and consulting firm Infosys has grown to revenues in excess of $10 billion (Rs. 66,000 crore) in the last fiscal year. The firm has been expanding its operations rapidly in recent times, both within India and abroad.
In recent years, Infosys acquired more than ten firms, making it the second most active firm in India. However, the rapid expansion and the revenue generation have largely taken place outside of the firm’s consulting practice. Of the $10.2 billion revenues, an impressive one-third (32%) was contributed by the firm’s consulting arm. However, this is primarily due to the fact that the consulting practice is clubbed in the same category as systems integration and implementation, which accounts for a majority of the turnover.
In line with the firm's growing focus on consulting services as part of its wider technology and outsourcing mix, Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh, who has over 25 years of experience in the consulting industry, as the new CEO and Managing Director. The company hopes that his appointment will help the firm return to calm waters, following the recent issues in its leadership ranks that led to the dramatic exit in August of its previous CEO, Vishal Sikka.
Having completed a B.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and subsequently a Masters in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell, Parekh eventually entered the world of financial services. He began his career at Big Four professional services firm EY, where he ended his eight-year tenure as a Partner in the Financial Services segment.
Parekh then went on to join Capgemini, where he spent 17 years as a financial services consultant, eventually ascending to the ranks of CEO of financial services for the UK, North America and Asia region. Latterly Parekh also served as a member of Capgemini's executive committee.
At Infosys, Parekh replaces Pravin Rao, who was the interim CEO following Sikka's departure. Commenting on the new appointment, co-founder of Infosys and Chairman of the board, Nandan Nilekani said, “We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry. The Board is also grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition."
Nilekani himself has been in the news recently, having pledged as much as $1.7 billion to philanthropic purposes, as a signatory of 'The Giving Pledge,' a foundation started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
Earlier this year, Infosys released plans for a giant project aiming to impact 800 million people worldwide, wherein they partnered with local startup Tonetag to devise a sound-based FinTech solution to simplify financial transactions.
