TCS is an integral part of who I am, I’ll be a part of TCS too as it soars: Rajesh Gopinathan

• It’s a day of mixed feelings for me said Rajesh Gopinathan who resigned as the CEO and MD of TCS.
  
• We have built something of lasting value that we believe in, he added.
  
• The 52-year-old remained tight-lipped about his next move but said he has ‘ideas’ which he will start ‘crystallizing’.
  
• We don’t expect any dramatic change, assured Krithi Krithivasan who has been appointed as the CEO designate.
  

Rajesh Gopinathan resigned as the CEO and MD of TCS after six years at the top of India’s largest IT services company, on Thursday.

“It’s a day of mixed feelings for me. It has been a fantastic journey with TCS. TCS is an integral part of who I am. I never had second thoughts and wouldn’t have done anything differently even if I could ,” said Gopinathan in an address to the media, on Friday.

He also shared that he never wrote his resume in my life, and refused to identify his achievements and failures of his term.

“I will also be an integral part of TCS – irrespective of all the great heights that TCS will go to and will continue to soar. That is my biggest pride and happiness. We have built something of lasting value that we believe in. That is my greatest takeaway from TCS,” he added.

The 52-year-old said that he has some ‘ideas’ and will start ‘crystallizing them’, as he remained tight-lipped about his next move. He did share that he will enjoy the down time with his family.

“The last 48 hours have been completely liberating. I’m in a very different space and very, very happy. I’m looking forward to actually doing that reset,” he added. This was after he “relentlessly” took over the task of presenting quarterly results and growth for the last ten years.

Prior to becoming TCS’ CEO in 2017, Gopinathan served as the company’s CFO from 2013 to 2017. He was reappointed as the CEO in 2022 for a term of five years. His resignation as the TCS CEO and MD will be effective from September 15, 2023.

‘No better time than this to quit’

Krithi Krithivasan has been appointed as the CEO designate– who was the global head of the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) business.

In response to questions over the timing of his decision, Gopinath said, “This is the most stable time we have seen in recent years. There is no better time than this (to quit) and a good time before the financial year-end so that Krithi (Krithivasan) can play for a full year.”

Gopinathan added that they crossed big milestones of $7 billion, with an annual revenue run rate close to $28 billion.

“We have brought the volatility of the pandemic to a fair state. We have registered very strong growth, first bouncing off the pandemic close to 15% and then over the last nine months, we have grown close to 14.8%,” he added.

‘We don’t expect any dramatic change’

Krithivasan is a TCS veteran and has been with the company for nearly 35 years. He said the change in guard will not result in any big change, and will focus on the company’s core principles.

“As I mentioned before we have a core set of beliefs and values – focusing on employees, focusing on our customers is the most important engine that drives our growth,” Krithivasan added.

As far as the path forward for the BFSI vertical that Krithivasan led, the new CEO designate said, “We will discuss with the team. We will discuss with Rajesh (Gopinathan) and Chandra. You will get to hear sooner than later. TCS as an organisation has been built on a continuous evolutionary approach.”

Krithivasan added that there are several leaders in sight to lead the BFSI vertical.

“We don’t expect any dramatic change in terms of how we are going to re-organise,” he added. But Krithivasan will move to Mumbai from Chennai, something that he has promised Gopinathan, the leaders shared in the media call.

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