It's a blank canvas now... will make up my mind: TCS CEO & MD Gopinathan

It has been a day of mixed feelings for Rajesh Gopinathan, chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), who steps down from his role of six years, and resigns from the company where he has spent close to 27 years. In a chat with Shivani Shinde he says he has never felt this relaxed and speaks about what lies ahead, and changes at TCS. Edited excerpts…

Will it be safe to assume you will continue to be with Tata Group?

I never did anything outside the group. But quite frankly, as I said in the morning call, I have not really thought about what I want to do. Even though these things were at the back of my mind, I never thought about them and I don’t believe that was the right thing to do either. I have time now. I will meet people, talk to them, understand what is there, try to gather my thoughts and then make up my mind.

I joined TCS straight from the campus. Obviously, I will see what is there in the group; that’s the first place. Besides, so much is happening within the group, but to assume that is why I have stepped down will be incorrect. It is a blank canvas now. 

I felt the right thing to do would be to first step down and then look at opportunities. 

The tenure of CEOs at TCS is coming down. Do you see that will be the trend?

You can always look at any number as a parameter and create a trend. It’s more like horses for courses. If it makes sense it will continue; if not, it will change. The one thing we are committed to is to do the right thing for the company and be honest to ourselves.

Every analyst we spoke to says the new CEO is a sign of continuity since he is from within the company. The only thing that is a concern is the timing. Comment?

It is highly unlikely that you will have more stability and visibility one year down the line or two years or five years down the line. If anything, the rate of change and volatility will only increase and that’s part and parcel of our industry. And that’s what makes the industry dynamic and that’s where the opportunity comes from. This is true for all industries. Sometimes people hang on thinking that they want to take the company to a certain level or when it reaches a certain level it will be safer.

To my mind the day you start thinking that maybe you shouldn’t be doing it, that is the day that one should stop it. The industry will keep changing, this decision should not be based on that. Of course if there is a major problem like the pandemic, that’s not the time to go for such changes. But business will always have ups and downs.

You had last year stated TCS was set to be a $50-billion firm by 2030. Does this milestone still remain?

It will not be appropriate for me to say that now. I fully stand by what I said when I said it. But as of today, that is Krithi’s (K Krithivasan) call to say because that is an event that will not happen in my tenure.