Dataquest: Cognizant CEO Honored with the 2012 Dataquest IT Person of the Year Award

Francisco D'Souza, CEO, Cognizant, receiving the 2012 Dataquest IT Person of the Year award from N. Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS, and chairperson of the Dataquest awards jury

Francisco D’Souza was honored with the 2012 Dataquest IT Person of the Year award. The award jury was unanimous in its recognition of the outstanding work D’Souza had done at Cognizant; the high growth trajectory that he had set Cognizant on, and the unique differentiators he had created for the company in areas such as client relationships and strategic visioning.

In his acceptance speech, D’Souza said, “This honor really belongs to the 150,000 Cognizant associates around the world who make what we do possible. I dedicate the award to them and to our customers. We have today grown to become a leader in the industries we serve. We have 150,000 associates and operate in 60 countries around the world. We are proud to call some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world our clients. We process millions of banking transactions every day; we keep airlines flying; we keep retailers selling; we maintain the critical infrastructure that keeps healthcare functioning in the U.S. and other parts of the world. What I am most proud about when I think of all these accomplishments is that as a company we haven’t lost sight of the fact that we have to be responsible corporate citizens and give back to the communities around the world in which we operate.”

In a special feature on D’Souza, Dataquest writes, “Meticulous and forthright. A burning passion coupled with youthful vigor—that’s Francisco D’Souza, one of the hottest CEOs of the tech industry…At 44, he is one of the youngest persons to receive the Dataquest IT Person of the Year award.”

“I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that I never imagined running a $7-billion business,” says D’Souza. “On the contrary, I just focused on doing things along the way that I enjoyed and that provided me with opportunities to grow and learn. The rest just happened.” He adds, “I am very grateful to have worked closely with and learned from a number of people during my career, including Kumar Mahadeva and Lakshmi Narayanan—two excellent CEOs—and Robert Weissman, and other members on the board who are themselves very accomplished CXOs of large U.S. corporations. I continue to learn from them today. And the fantastic team of executives around me, most of who have been around since the company was founded.”

“I try to take everything in my stride,” says D’Souza. “I can tell you that becoming the CEO of Cognizant just as the downturn hit was difficult, but it proved to be one of the best things that could have happened. It pushed me to re-examine everything we were doing. As a result, we took a very deliberate approach to the downturn—we called it ‘shining through the fog’. We invested and innovated throughout the recession so that we could emerge stronger than when the crisis began. Which we did, producing industry-leading growth, extending the geographic reach of our business, strengthening our offerings in numerous fields of expertise, and broadening our base in a range of industry sectors. I have to say that I have the best team in the industry at Cognizant and that’s what gives me the drive. My achievements are a reflection of their work; it is by no means an individual effort.”

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