BrazilVodafone Business CEO Brian Humphries named next Cognizant CEO
Brian Humphries, the current CEO of Vodafone Business, will serve as the next CEO of global ICT consultancy Cognizant, effective April 1.
Humphries will succeed Francisco D’Souza, Cognizant’s co-founder, who has served as CEO since 2007. D’Souza will serve as full-time executive vice chairman to ease the transition until June 30, after which he will remain on the board as vice chairman.
“It is an honor and a privilege to join Cognizant, which has been at the forefront of the digital revolution – driving innovative and transformational change for many of the largest enterprises in the world,” Humphries said. “Cognizant is renowned for being laser-focused on its clients' needs, developing business solutions and services that help clients position their companies for the future. 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. The opportunity to lead Cognizant is an exciting one.”
Vodafone Business is part of Vodafone Group, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Under Humphries, Vodafone Business accounted for nearly a third of the company’s revenue, with approximately €12 billion in global sales. Humphries has previously held leadership positions at Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
"With a strong track record of success across different companies, cultures, and roles, Brian is the right executive to lead Cognizant and build on its 25 years of growth, success and innovation,” Michael Patsalos-Fox, Cognizant's chairman of the board, said in a statement. “Our industry is entering a dynamic new growth stage. Brian is a broadly experienced technology executive with a proven track record of driving enterprise-wide transformation through focused execution, often in challenging and highly competitive market segments.”
“Brian brings a global perspective and a keen knowledge of our businesses and the technologies with which we innovate. We're confident he has the ideas, energy, ambition and insights to extend the remarkable track record of success under Frank's leadership.”
Cognizant is one of the world’s largest professional services companies, working to transform clients’ business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. The firm recently celebrated its 25th year of business operations by ringing the bell at Nasdaq in New York City. Cognizant broke into the Fortune 200 last year, and has seen revenue growth from $8.8 billion in 2013 to $14.8 billion in 2017.
Cognizant has made several large, internationally scaled moves, including the acquisitions of creative agency Mustache and Indian technology consulting firm SaaSfocus. In October, Cognizant joined several global organizations to launch the Data Literacy Project, which is committed to inspiring large businesses to make data literacy an imperative.
