S Mahalingam

TCS 1970-2013

CFO and ED 2003-2013

Seturaman Mahalingam or “Maha”, as he is better known, started his professional career with Tata Consultancy Services in 1970. He served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company from 2003 till he retired in 2013. In his 43-year career with TCS, Maha has been involved in myriad aspects of the Company’s operations and growth, before being appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company in February 2003 and as Executive Director in August 2007.

As CFO, Maha led the team working on IPO of TCS. TCS had operated as a Division of Tata Sons Ltd until 2004 when it was listed in BSE and NSE.

Maha has played a key role in helping TCS become a $ 11.6 billion global company with over 276,000 employees at the end of March 2013 when he retired from the Company.

Maha’s experience, during the formative years of the IT industry in the 1970s and 1980s, has given him significant standing within the IT industry. He has been the President of Computer Society of India. He is a former Chairman of the Southern Region of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), He was also the President of the Institute of Management Consultants of India. Maha is active in the Skill Development area. He is on the Board of National Skill development Corporation and is also the Chairman of the Taskforce appointed by CII National Council on sector Skill Councils and Employment.

Maha was a member of the Tax Administration Reform Commission(TARC) set up by the Government of India under the chairmanship of Dr.Parthasarathi Shome.

Maha was chosen as the best ‘CFO” in various years by Business Today, International Market Assessment (IMA), CNBC TV18, CFO India magazine and Finance Asia. He was also the winner “CFO of Year” Award at CFO Innovation Asia Awards 2012.

K Ananth Krishnan

Former CTO, TCS

Mr. K Ananth Krishnan recently retired as the Chief Technology Officer of Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest IT company. He continues to be active on boards of companies, academic and other committees.

He was responsible for Research, Innovation and Co-Innovation. Under his leadership, TCS created a significant portfolio of patents, papers and IP, as well as a very large open innovation network (TCS COIN) across academia, startups, strategic partners and customers. The TCS Research and TCS Pace brands delivered significant outcomes across all of TCS technology and business services, products, platforms and social impact programs.

Earlier, he led many large initiatives including the establishment of company-wide internal systems, communication and collaboration networks. He has also been an Enterprise Architect and head of the Systems Software Group.

His areas of expertise include the management of Research and Innovation and Open Innovation networks, and inter-disciplinary applications of Computer Science and Engineering. Other areas of work include Enterprise Architecture, Performance of large applications and Systems Software.

Ananth has served on several Governing Councils of Academia, Industry Advisory boards, multilateral industry bodies and Government committees. He has been a regular invitee to the Board of TCS since 1999 till his retirement in 2023.

He was elected a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2013. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Delhi in 2009. He has been listed in Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders (2007), and in Infoworld’s Top 25 CTOs (2007).

Ananth is an M. Tech. in Computer Science, and an M. Sc in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a BSc in Physics from Fergusson College in Pune. He was a successful quizzer in his younger days and is still occasionally active.

Lakshmi Narayanan

Former CEO, Cognizant

Lakshmi Narayanan was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant on December 22, 2003, and serves as a Director. Mr. Narayanan served as the Chief Operating Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. from March 1998 to December 2003. He joined the Indian subsidiary of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. as Chief Technology Officer in 1994 and was elected President of the subsidiary on January 1, 1996.

Prior to joining Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., from 1975 to 1994 Mr. Narayanan was the regional head of Tata Consultancy Services, a large consulting and software services company located in India. Mr. Narayanan holds a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Indian Institute of Science.

R Chandrasekaran

R Chandrasekaran, has had an exemplary career spanning over 34 years, in the field of Information Technology. Chandra, as he is popularly known, just retired as Executive Vice Chairman of Cognizant, India.

He serves as an Independent Director on the Board of PNBHF and is also part of Chairman’s council NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies). He holds a B.E. (Hons)degree from R.E.C. Trichy (NITT) and an MBA from IIM Bangalore.

Chandra joined Cognizant as a member of the founding team. Chandra has been widely recognized inside Cognizant as a significant contributor to growing the company to over 250,000 employees and $16+ billion revenues last year.

He started his career post engineering with Ashok Leyland, where he spent four years. After his MBA from IIM Bangalore in 1985, he joined TCS, where he held positions of increasing responsibility and stature including stints in UK and US

He has received numerous awards including

• Distinguished Alumni Award from REC Trichy in 2008
• Distinguished Alumni Award from IIM Bangalore in 2015
• CXO of the year from Business Standard
• “For the sake of Honour”, an award given by the Rotary Club of T Nagar, Chennai.

He is very passionate about Education and is

• On the Advisory Board of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai
• On Post Graduate Prog.. committee of NIT Trichy

In his private life, Chandra is an unassuming, soft spoken man with the same drive for achievement combined with respect and compassion for others that he brings to his professional life. He is an active supporter of social causes, directly supporting education of underprivileged school children, Offering Merit Scholarship in NIT Trichy, supporting Research Fellowship at in IIM Bangalore..

Ravi Viswanathan

Ravi Viswanathan is the Managing Director and Global CEO of TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS), a USD 1.2Bn enterprise. Taking over the reins at TVS SCS in 2020, Ravi is responsible for driving strategy formulation and execution. He is in the process of implementing a transformation agenda to drive the Digital Operating System at TVS SCS enabling a digital journey and a Zero Touch Process to seamlessly engage with customers in the logistics and supply chain space. Under his leadership the company went public in August 2023 and listed at a premium.

Prior to joining TVS SCS, Ravi worked in the TATA (Indian conglomerate) group for over 33 years. His last role in TATA was that of Chief Marketing Officer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) where he was managing the portfolio of Global Marketing, Communications, Analyst relationships and Corporate Affairs.

Ravi is actively engaged with the key industry bodies, such as Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII), where he headed the IT sub-committee in Chennai. He is an active member and the past President of the Madras Management Association (MMA). Ravi is also a past President of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce. Besides, he has also served on the board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NITT).

Ravi graduated from the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli (since renamed as NIT Tiruchirappalli) with a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. Music, Blogging and Golf occupy the white spaces in his otherwise busy schedule. Ravi is also a distinguished Alumni Awardee from his Alma Mater.

Mr Sudheer Warrier

Sudheer Warrier brings over 34 years of extensive experience in Technology & Business Management to his role as Executive Director and Chief Technology and Digital Officer at Sundaram Finance. With a solid track record in setting up and scaling global businesses, Sudheer has led numerous large-scale deals, driving transformative changes in customer operating models and organizational designs. His leadership spans across various aspects of the value chain including consulting, sales, solutioning, delivery, operations, and P&L ownership.

Throughout his career, Sudheer has emphasized leveraging Research & Innovation to create differentiated value for customers. He is deeply committed to fostering next-generation leaders and has designed various learning and development programs with a keen focus on Diversity & Inclusion.

Sudheer's industry recognition includes leadership accolades in Nelson Hall's Smart IT Services and IDC MarketScape for Digital Transformation in Utilities. He has also been a keynote speaker at various international events, addressing topics such as empowering the workforce through digital transformation and exploring new revenue streams in utilities. Sudheer's diverse expertise and strategic vision continue to drive Sundaram Finance's digital transformation journey and global business expansion.

P H Vijaya Deepthi

Vijaya Deepti is a Member – Board of Directors at Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. She is the Chairperson for the Risk Management Committee and Member – Audit Committee at Tata AIG. She is Trustee at Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement. She is a Trustee on the Board of Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement(GRAAM). She is a Member – Board of Directors at Aster DM Healthcare Ltd.

She was the CEO of Tata Insights and Quants a Division of the Tata Industries Ltd. The Organization is focused on working with the Tata Group Companies on leveraging Advanced Analytics to address business challenges. She was with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for over three decades and played several roles both at Corporate and Business Unit Level.

As Head of Global Insurance Product Business at TCS, she was responsible for product development and client delivery initiatives globally. Previously, she served as the Head of Global Insurance Delivery with an additional responsibility to grow UK and European Insurance business. Under her leadership, the TCS Insurance unit won several strategic large deals, acquired new customers and achieved multifold growth

Deepti’s experience in delivering large scale transformations, coupled with thought leadership enable her to be a sought-after business advisor to CXOs of Global Corporations.

Mr.Vinod Krishnan

Vinod Krishnan is the founder, CEO, and Managing Director of TVS Next, leading a team of digital technology consultants. They help customers accelerate their digital journeys and create a competitive advantage through technology.

With over 24 years of experience in the IT industry, Vinod has a strong track record of delivering end-to-end digital transformation across engineering, intelligence, and experiences for high-growth organizations and digital natives alike.

He holds an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Before founding TVS Next, Vinod was the Managing Director of TVS Infotech.