Cyient appoints tech veteran Sukamal Banerjee as CEO

Midcap IT services firm Cyient Ltd. announced on Wednesday the appointment of Sukamal Banerjee as its chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director for five years, effective immediately. Banerjee will serve as key managerial personnel and be part of the senior management team at Cyient DLM Ltd, the company said in an exchange filing.

With over three decades of experience, Banerjee has held senior leadership roles in major tech firms, including HCL Technologies, where he rose to Corporate Vice President, overseeing the engineering business.

Most recently, he was the CEO and Board Member at Chrys Capital-backed digital engineering company Xoriant, where he joined in March 2023. His extensive experience includes scaling businesses and fostering partnerships across industries such as communications, semiconductors, energy, transportation, automotive, and healthcare, aligning closely with Cyient’s focus areas.

Banerjee replaced Karthikeyan Natarajan, who resigned as Cyient’s CEO and executive director last month after the company posted a sharp drop in its third-quarter financial results of the company.
Natarajan, however, in his resignation letter said he quit to explore new challenges and opportunities that align with his personal and professional goals.

“The ER&D sector is poised for transformative change over the next decade, with engineering and technology innovations reshaping products, plants, and networks. Cyient, with its multi-vertical expertise, is a leader in this sector. Leading a team of over 16,000 passionate Cyientists is both an honour and a responsibility I embrace. Together, we will push boundaries and elevate Cyient to new heights,” Banerjee said in a statement.

His appointment comes at a crucial time for Cyient, which aims to accelerate growth despite recent financial challenges. In Q3 FY25, Cyient’s net profit fell 31.7% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 122.3 crore, down from Rs 179.1 crore in Q2 FY25. However, revenue from operations increased by 4.2% QoQ to Rs 1,926.4 crore in Q3 FY25, up from Rs 1,849.1 crore in Q2 FY25.

MM Murugappan, Chairman of Cyient, expressed enthusiasm about Banerjee's appointment, stating, “Sukamal is a values-based leader whose experience in the ER&D and technology sector will significantly benefit Cyient as we aim for accelerated growth. I am confident that under his leadership, Cyient DET will become a leading technology-driven intelligent engineering solutions organization.”

Banerjee holds a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance & Strategy. He previously led HCLTech’s transformation initiatives and managed a business worth over $1.5 billion in digital and engineering services, overseeing operations and a team of over 20,000 engineers in more than 30 countries.

At Xoriant, he will be succeeded by Rohit Kedia, former Chief Growth Officer of LTIMindtree Ltd., as announced in a separate statement on Tuesday.