'Spend time with family': Outgoing TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan hints at his next move, doesn't reveal it

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services provider, announced on Thursday that Rajesh Gopinathan, its CEO, will step down from his position. Gopinathan has been with the company since 2001 and was re-appointed as CEO for a second five-year term in 2020.

The company named K Krithivasan as CEO-designate, effective March 16, and stated that he will take over as CEO and managing director in the next financial year, subject to shareholders' approval. Krithivasan has been with TCS since 1989 and has held several leadership positions in the company.

What's next for Rajesh Gopinathan?

Gopinathan said that his main concern currently was the transitioning of responsibilities to the incoming CEO Krithivasan.

"First I have to make sure the transition happens smoothly. With Krithi being there, I don't think that is a challenge at all," Gopinathan said.

On being asked what his future plans were, he said wanted to take some downtime and be with his family. "I also want to take some downtime. Spend time with my family," he said.

"(I want to) sit back and then think of the many ideas I have. Now that the trigger has been pulled, I need to start crystallizing what those are. It would not have been appropriate for me to go down that path while I was doing something as important as this,” he added.

On being asked whether he wants to be an advisor in any of the other Tata companies Gopinathan said, "My respect for advisors has been exponentially growing. I'll see if something comes out of that but as of now, no plans." 

The question of timing

The Indian IT industry is facing a challenging macroeconomic environment in its key markets of Europe and the United States. It is also coming under renewed focus due to its significant exposure to the US banking sector, which is currently experiencing a financial crisis. Gopinathan's resignation comes at a time when the industry is grappling with these challenges.

While the company expects the transition to be smooth, analysts have described the news as sentimentally negative as this is the first CEO resignation at TCS since its incorporation. Under Gopinathan's leadership, TCS's shares have nearly tripled in value, and revenue has almost doubled. Profit has also risen by about 60 per cent, as of the last quarter.