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 currently serves 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, after 23 years of service at the firm. ”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. ”We are confident that his extensive industry and leadership experience will provide further momentum to our operations in India, which is a critical hub of Cognizant’s leading-edge delivery capabilities,” Humphries said.

Nambiar’s extensive general management, commercial, and delivery experience includes more than a dozen years with IBM and 18 years with Tata Consultancy Services. Cognizant’s technology and delivery capabilities in India provide an immense competitive advantage to the company and its clients, Nambiar said.

”My priority is to build upon Cognizant’s rich legacy of innovation, industry leadership, and client-centric employee culture to help the company engineer modern businesses that improve everyday life,” he added.