Cognizant appoints six women executives as senior vice-presidents

Cognizant has appointed six women for senior vice-president (SVP) roles, which include a mix of promotions and new hires and mark leadership changes under chief executive officer (CEO) Ravi Kumar S.

Cognizant has seen leadership changes since Kumar joined as its CEO in January 2023. One of Kumar’s key priorities has been to increase Cognizant’s diverse talent, including in leadership positions, in addition to focusing on three key imperatives: make the company an employer of choice in the IT services firm industry, accelerate revenue growth, and enhance operational discipline.

Elisa de Rocca-Serra, who joined Cognizant in 2021, has been promoted to SVP, EMEA General Counsel and Contract Lifecycle Risk Management (CLRM). In her newly expanded role, she is responsible for driving improved operational and financial outcomes by managing commercial risk throughout the entire client contract lifecycle.

Thea Hayden, who joined Cognizant in 2020, is now SVP, Global Marketing. Hayden’s team is responsible for the Cognizant brand, design and creative services, social media, thought leadership and research.

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Patricia (Trish) Hunter-Dennehy was promoted to SVP, Healthcare Provider/Payor Business Unit. Her team supports the overall administration of healthcare in the US, including healthcare delivery. Trish joined Cognizant in 2015 as part of the TriZetto acquisition.

Sailaja Josyula, who joined Cognizant in 2018, was promoted and is now the SVP, Intuitive Operations & Automation (IOA) for the Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI) industry for the commercial markets in North America as well as global delivery. She is also the center head for Hyderabad. Hyderabad is the second largest delivery centre for Cognizant with over 56,000 associates, next to Chennai.

Archana Ramanakumar rejoined Cognizant on July 5 as SVP, Industry Solutions Group (ISG). Archana left Cognizant in 2020 to gain experience at LTI and LTI Mindtree.

Sandra Natardonato joined Cognizant on July 17 as SVP, Partnerships and Alliances. Prior to Cognizant, Natardonato spent 15 years with Gartner and 11 years with various professional services firms as a senior equity analyst.