Cognizant appoints Vodafone executive Brian Humphries as CEO; forecasts 7-9% revenue growth in 2019

American IT major Cognizant on Wednesday appointed Brian Humphries, currently the CEO of Vodafone Business, as the new CEO of the company, who will replace Francisco D'Souza.

"The board of directors has named Brian Humphries as its CEO and a member of the board of directors," Cognizant said in a statement.

Humphries' appointments will be effective April 1, 2019, the company said.

Following Humphries' appointment, Francisco D'Souza, who co-founded Cognizant and has served as CEO since 2007, will serve as full-time executive vice chairman to facilitate the transition through June 30, 2019. Thereafter, he will remain on the board as Vice Chairman, the company said.

"With a strong track record of success across different companies, cultures and roles, Brian is the right executive to lead Cognizant and build on its 25 years of growth, success and innovation," said Michael Patsalos-Fox, Cognizant's Chairman of the Board.

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Humphries joined Vodafone from Dell where he most recently held the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of its Infrastructure Solutions Group, based in Boston and Geneva. Previously, he was President of Dell's Global Enterprise Solutions.

In a separate development, the IT major has reported net income at $648 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018 compared to a net loss of $18 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the year ago period.

Going forward, the company forecast revenue growth of 7-9 per cent in constant currency terms for full year 2019. For the first quarter of 2019, revenue growth is projected at 7.5-8.5 per cent in constant currency.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018 rose to $4.13 billion, up 7.9 per cent from $3.83 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Commenting on Q4, Cognizant Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Francisco D'Souza said: "Cognizant executed well in 2018, diversifying our revenue base and client roster, and investing to build distinctive leadership in six advanced digital capabilities."

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar