Birlasoft appoints Selvakumaran Mannappan as COO

Global IT services company Birlasoft has appointed Selvakumaran Mannappan as chief operating officer (COO) effective October 18, 2023. In this role, Mannappan will leverage state-of-the-art technologies to drive strategy and deliver value to the customers.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire team, I welcome Selva to the Birlasoft family. Selva joins Birlasoft at a crucial time in our growth journey. I am confident that with Selva onboard, Birlasoft’s aspiration to be bold, agile, and ambitious would get strengthened further,” Angan Guha, chief executive officer and managing director, Birlasoft.

An industry veteran, Mannappan has 29 years of experience in the IT industry. In his previous role, he was the delivery head of BFSI-Americas (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance) at Cognizant Technology Solutions. Notably, earlier this month, Cognizant’s BFSI head Meera Krishnamurthy exited the organisation after 18 years. Now her duties will be handled by three executives. 

In July, Birlasoft established a centre of excellence (CoE) for generative artificial intelligence, in collaboration with Microsoft. The CoE will facilitate research, training, and collaboration to build solutions for complex business problems. 

With the collaboration, Birlasoft will train 5ib00 consultants on generative AI technology and its best practices. The two companies will also work together on 50 use cases across various verticals and sub-verticals. Birlasoft will be using generative AI and Azure OpenAI Service capabilities in manufacturing, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, energy and utilities, and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI).

“With the Generative AI Centre of Excellence, we will raise the bar further to deliver enterprise solutions and services. I’m excited and hopeful that together, we will deliver innovative solutions that empower organisations to make informed decisions and stay ahead in a highly competitive landscape,” Roop Singh, CEO Americas, Birlasoft, said then.