Why TCS named 57-year-old Krithivasan as CEO designate, when age is not on his side: Kotak Institutional Equities

After the unexpected resignation of TCS CEO & MD Rajesh Gopinathan on March 16, the focus is now on CEO designate K Krithivasan who is set to take over the role from September 2023.

Analysts have expressed confidence in Krithivasan, who is currently global head of BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) business, on the back of his long tenure with the company as well as his vast experience in the Industry.

Brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities says that while exits are possible, it must be pointed out that Krithivasan was a clear front-runner in case Rajesh ever wished to step down.

“The question that we have been asked is why appoint Krithivasan when age is not on his side; after all, Krithivasan is 57 years old,” it highlighted.

Krithivasan’s experience in handling a vast portfolio and over 34 years of experience with TCS makes the brokerage optimistic on the road ahead.

“Krithivasan is first among equals in many ways in the organization. He handles a large BFSI portfolio of US$11 bn, has grown the business consistently, involved in many strategic decisions and was among front-runners for the CEO role, in our view, in the past. We have an ADD rating on the stock,” the brokerage said.

Krithivasan has held various leadership roles in delivery, customer relationship management, large program management and sales and is also a member of the Board of Directors of TCS Iberoamerica, TCS Ireland and the supervisory board of TCS Technology Solutions AG.

Also Read: ‘A day of mixed feelings’: Rajesh Gopinathan talks about his TCS exit

On TCS’s leadership history, the brokerage mentioned that Gopinathan took over as CEO from Chandra in Feb 2017 after the latter was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Sons. Under Chandra, TCS was in a position of strength with leadership in various domains, early investments in digital and products and platforms and strength in large deals. Rajesh built on a strong platform set by predecessors and further enhanced TCS’ positioning, it added.

During a Media Brief on Friday, CEO Designate K Krithivasan said that TCS has been built on 2 Pillars i.e customer centricity and employees and that priorities and strategies will not change with change in leadership adding that he wants to double down on making customer relationships stronger.

At 10.03 a.m, the share price of TCS was trading 0.60 percent down at Rs 3,165.80 while benchmark Nifty IT was trading 0.98 percent up at 28,797.15 points.