IT major Cognizant has named Rajesh Nambiar as the chairman and managing director of its India operations and a member of its executive committee effective November 9, 2020.

Nambiar will join Cognizant from Ciena, a networking, systems and software company, where he served as the chairman and president of Ciena India, said a late-night statement on Tuesday. Nambiar, succeeds Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, who retired in July this year.

“In the repositioned and elevated role of the India chairman and MD, 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,” Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries said.
Nambiar will also serve as the executive committee representative of Cognizant’s nearly 200,000 associates in India, he added.