Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has appointed Rajesh Nambiar as the chairman and managing director of India and a member of its executive committee, effective 9 November. Cognizant has been scouting for a new chief to head its India operations ever since Ramkumar Ramamoorthy left the company on 17 July after spending 23 years in the company.

Nambiar’s experience across general management, commercial, and delivery spans across more than 12 years with IBM and 18 years with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. At IBM, Nambiar was the general manager and global leader for IBM’s Application Services Business, with oversight of an $8 billion global P&L. He also served on the board of IBM India and as a member of Nasscom’s executive council.

He joins Cognizant from Ciena, a networking, systems, and software company, where he currently serves as chairman and president of Ciena India.

“In the repositioned and elevated role of the India chairman and managing director, Rajesh will strengthen our brand positioning in India and enhance our relationships with relevant Indian government agencies, chambers of commerce, universities, the media, and key policy-making bodies, including Nasscom,” said Brian Humphries, CEO, Cognizant.

Nambiar said that Cognizant’s technology and delivery capabilities in India provide an “immense competitive advantage” to the company and its clients.

“My priority is to build upon Cognizant’s rich legacy of innovation, industry leadership, and client-centric employee culture to help the company engineer modern businesses that improve everyday life,” he said.