C Vijayakumar, one of Indian IT's longest-serving CEOs, gets a third term at HCLTech
Vijayakumar, 57, is a HCLTech veteran who has spent around three decades at the company. He first occupied its corner office in October 2016. He was given a second term on 20 July 2021 and handed the additional responsibility as managing director when then chief strategy officer Shiv Nadar stepped down.
Srikrishna Ramakarthikeyan of Hexaware Technologies is Indian IT's longest-serving CEO, having taken over in August 2014. Vijayakumar is the longest-serving CEO among the top five IT firms, followed by Salil Parekh, 60, who joined Infosys as CEO in January 2018 and remains in the role. Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra have been a change at the top in the past 30 months.
Vijayakumar oversaw HCLTech's toppling of Wipro Ltd as the country's third-largest IT outsourcer in July 2018. Seven years later, the pecking order at the top remains unchanged. He is also the highest-earning chief executive of an Indian IT firm, having bagged ₹ 84.16 crore in salary as of March 2024. His current salary is unknown as HCLTech is yet to release its annual report for FY25.
A major reason for his extension is the company's outperformance in relation to its peers. Between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025, HCLTech grew at a compound annual rate of 8.94%, the highest among the top five IT firms.
Under CVK, as he is known within the company, HCLTech added $9.3 billion in incremental revenue between 1 October 2016 and 31 June 2025. This is almost the size of Wipro Ltd, India's fourth-largest IT outsourcer.
The company also won its largest deal under Vijayakumar in August 2023. HCLTech bagged a six-year contract with US telecom company Verizon Communications that would fetch it $2.1 billion. It has also bet on software products, making it one of the few software outsourcers to purchase and license intellectual property, and build and sell software products to clients.
The company's confidence in Vijayakumar also stems from the fact that HCLTech has grown the fastest among the top five for two straight years, at a time when clients have been wary of macroeconomic uncertainties and growth in the $283-billion IT industry has slowed. HCLTech ended the last fiscal year with $13.8 billion of revenue, up 4.3%.
Vijayakumar has had his challenges, such as increasing the company's operating margins. Over the past eight years, HCLTech's operating margins tanked 200 basis points to 18.3% in FY25. Still, shareholders haven't lost faith. HCLTech's shares have jumped 87% since Vijayakumar took over as CEO, and closed at ₹ 1,506.95 on Thursday.
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