Vodafone’s Brian Humphries to be CEO

For the first time, Cognizant has picked an outsider for the CEO’s job.

Brian Humphries, currently the CEO of Vodafone Business, will take over the reins of the Nasdaq-listed IT firm from April 1.

He will succeed the company’s co-founder Francisco D’Souza, who has served as the CEO since 2007.

Mr. D’Souza will serve as full-time executive vice-chairman to facilitate the transition through June 30, 2019. Thereafter, he will remain on the board as vice-chairman.

Cognizant has also announced that Rajeev Mehta will step down as president, effective April 1, 2019.

As CEO of Vodafone Business, Mr. Humphries has been responsible for its global enterprise business.

He has also held leadership positions at global technology leaders Dell and Hewlett-Packard. “I look forward to building on the great work and collaboration Cognizant has with clients, the development of innovative solutions and its operational execution and strength,” a release quoted Mr. Humphries as saying.

“As a board, we embarked upon a methodical search for my successor to ensure a fully-thought through and orderly transition when the time came,” Mr. D’Souza said during the earnings call.

“We sought someone with a track record of success across multiple companies, industries, technologies, geographies, roles and organisational cultures. Brian fits that bill. I am fully committed to ensuring Brian’s success and Cognizant’s continued growth in my current and future roles,” he added.

Q4 revenue up 7.9%

The New Jersey-headquartered firm saw its revenues for the fourth quarter go up 7.9% to $4.13 billionfrom a year earlier. For the full year 2018, revenue increased to $16.13 billion, up 8.9% (8.5% in constant currency) from 2017. Net profit stood at $648 million for the quarter. Last year, for the same period, it posted a net loss of $18 million.

The firm also said it expects the first quarter 2019 revenue growth to be 7.5%-8.5% in constant currency and full-year revenue growth at 7-9%.