Rajesh Gopinathan, another youngest CEO of TCS

Global software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday appointed Rajesh Gopinathan as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Like his predecessor, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Gopinathan is the youngest CEO of the $16.5 billion IT major at the age of 46 years.

The now-54 Chandrasekaran, who was on Thursday as the new Chairman of the $103 billion Tata Sons group, was also 46 years old when he succeeded S. Ramadorai on October 6, 2009.

"Gopinathan takes over from Chandrasekaran from February 21, 2017," said the company in a statement here.

Prior to his appointment to the company's top post, Gopinathan was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President for nearly four years since February 2013.

"It is definitely a big shoe to fill. With continuous guidance from Chandrasekaran and support of the TCS team, I am confident of continuing this great journey that TCS is on," said Gopinathan in the statement.

The new CEO also clarified that the vision and roadmap of the company would remain the same as aimed earlier.

"Do not expect any major changes in TCS," he added.

Congratulating Gopinathan on his new appointment, Chandrasekaran said TCS' core strength was its strong leadership talent that was collaborative and aspirational.

"I have been privileged to lead this company of great professionals over the last seven years. I am delighted that the board has chosen Rajesh to lead this company into the future," he said.

"Rajesh has great understanding of the business and finance sides of TCS. I am confident that he will lead TCS to great heights," added Chandrasekaran.

Joining TCS in 2001 from Tata Industries, Gopinathan rose through the ranks to become Vice President of Business Finance before he was promoted as CFO in 2013.

According to the company, Gopinathan's responsibilities included financial planning, control, margin management and revenue assurance while heading the finance division.

Born in 1971, Gopinathan is an electrical and electronic engineer, graduating in 1994 from Regional Engineering College (REC) at Trichy in Tamil Nadu.

Gopinathan is also an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the country's elite business school.

Gopinathan lives in this city with his wife Lekshmi and has a daughter and son.

In a regulatory filing to the BSE, the outsourcing firm also said it had appointed N.G. Subramanian as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Subramanian, who is President of the Financial Solutions, has also been appointed as a director on the company's board.

--IANS

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