Cognizant country head takes on additional charge of APJ head for large deals

Cognizant has awarded Achal Kataria the additional responsibility of head of large deals (Asia-Pacific Japan region), in addition to the existing role of vice president and India country head. Kataria assumed the role starting this month, as per his latest update on professional networking platform LinkedIn.

To be sure, Kataria was appointed the country head in September 2021, replacing Anantharaman Sreenivasan who served in the post for four years before stepping down in August of that year. Further, Kataria has three decades of experience, having worked in companies such as EXL, Tech Mahindra, and Genpact.

US-based Cognizant, which is yet to announce its fourth quarter earnings, reported a deal bookings growth of $26.9 billion, growing 16% year-on-year. About 30% of these were reported to be large deals with three being over $100 million in value. 

In a separate but related news, Cognizant is facing accusations of talent poaching by companies like Wipro and Infosys. Wipro initiated legal action against its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jatin Dalal, who joined global competitor Cognizant on December 1. Wipro has also lodged a complaint against its former senior executive, Mohd Haque, who allegedly joined Cognizant in August, violating a non-compete clause in his employment contract with Wipro. Haque left Wipro in June after nearly 13 years with the company. 

Another rival, Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys has reportedly sent an official letter to Cognizant regarding ‘unethical poaching’ practices. As per reports, Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar, a former Infosys executive himself, has hired nearly 20 senior leaders in the company from companies like Infosys and Wipro.