NEW DELHI: On February 21, when Rajesh Gopinathan, the CEO-designate of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) walks into the CEO’s room in the second floor, also called ‘Executives’ Floor’ of TCS House in Mumbai, he will have his hands full.
But, he will have more than a month to make an assessment of challenges he has to encounter. The first will be to keep the team, comprising highly respected technocrats, together.
“TCS’ core strength is its strong leadership talent that is collaborative and aspirational,” says N Chandrasekaran, TCS CEO and the chairman-designate of Tata Sons, in a statement.
Chandrasekaran, according to industry observers, is known for his persuasive skills to encourage top executives to take certain decisions without pushing them to do so.
Gopinathan, the new boss of TCS, will have to work hard to emulate that trait.
“The global scenario has changed and the challenges that were present for TCS under Chandra have been resolved, like the need to upgrade skill sets of employees as the global demands are new and require new solutions — visa shortage balancing, new business verticals and automations,” says Jaijit Bhattacharya, an analysts with KPMG.
According to TCS insiders, Chandrasekaran did well to manage the HR issues. With the company’s overseas business under pressure, Gopinathan will have to focus on retraining and keeping the interest of the young in new opportunities.
“TCS has evolved into an industry leader during Chandra’s tenure. It is definitely big shoes to fill,” says Gopinathan in a statement. He is confident of getting guidance from Chandrasekaran. However, it will take ingenious skills to maintain TCS leadership and continue the top tag in the Tata group as major revenue contributor.
TCS names Rajesh Gopinathan as new MD and CEO
The country’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday announced Rajesh Gopinathan as its new managing director and Chief Executive Officer. Gopinathan joined TCS in 2001 from Tata Industries, taking charging of TCS’ newly established e-business unit in the United States. He led the design, structure and implementation of the new organisational structure and operating model of the US-based unit. In February 2013, he was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company.
As CFO, Gopinathan was responsible for the financial management of the TCS’s individual units. His responsibilities included financial planning, revenue assurance and margin management. He has also played a key role in helping TCS become a $16.5 billion global company with over 3,78,000 employees. An electrical and electronic engineer from REC Trichy (now NIT, Trichy), Rajesh graduated in 1994, before pursuing his Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Ahmedabad.