Francisco D’Souza

Francisco D’Souza

Francisco D’Souza is the CEO of Cognizant.

Introduction: 

  • Francisco D’Souza was born in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. on 23 August 1968.
  • His father, Placido D’Souza (born in 1933, ex-Anjuna, Goa), was a diplomat with the Indian Foreign Services.
  •  His mother was Sushila. His sisters are Jacinta, Lucia, and Maria.
  • He is the CEO of Cognizant and was part of the team that founded the NASDAQ-100 company in 1994.
  • Francisco is Cognizant’s CEO since January 2007 .
  • Francisco D’Souza is among the youngest Chief Executive Officers in the software services sector.
  • He has been noted for his quick rise to the top of his profession.

Industry Profile:

  • Francisco D’Souza has more than 20 years of experience in the information technology industry, in both operational and advisory roles.
  • From February 1995 to December 1995, D’Souza was employed as Product Manager at Pilot Software a company funded by Keyur Patel of Fuse Global.
  • At Cognizant, which he joined in its early days, D’Souza was elected Chief Operating Officer (COO) in December 2003.
  • Prior to that, from November 1999 to December 2003, he served as Senior Vice President (SVP), North American Operations and Business Development.
  • From March 1998 to November 1999, he served as Vice President (VP), North American Operations and Business Development and as Director-North American Operations and Business Development from June 1997 to March 1998.
  • From January 1996 to June 1997, D’Souza was engaged as a consultant.
  • Effective January 1, 2007, D’Souza was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of theBoard of Directors of Cognizant.
  • In February 2013, D’Souza was appointed as independent director on the board of General Electric.

Awards, Achievements &Recognition:

  • D’Souza has received the following honors:
    • 2002 – Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist[citation needed]
    • 2005 – The Economic Times Entrepreneur Award[citation needed]
    • 2009 – named among “America’s Best CEOs” by Institutional Investor magazine
    • 2013 – named among “100 CEO Leaders in STEM” by STEMconnector
    • 2013 – Recognized as the Best CEO in the Multinational Company category by Forbes India magazine as part of its             2013 Leadership Awards.

 

Ajaypal Singh Banga

Ajaypal Singh Banga

Ajaypal Singh Banga is the current president and chief executive officer of MasterCard.

Introduction:

  • Banga was born into a Sikh family in Khadki outside Pune, Maharashtra in India.
  • His father was an army officer, retired lieutenant-general Harbhajan Singh Banga who is a decorated army general of Indian Army.
  • The family’s origin is from Jalandhar in Punjab.
  • He is also the younger brother of another well known CEO M S Banga.
  • MasterCard announced on April 12, 2010 that Ajay Banga, previously MasterCard’s president and chief operating officer, had been named by the Board of Directors to serve as the company’s president and chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2010.
  • The company also announced that Banga would become a member of MasterCard’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.
  • Ajay Banga, 50, succeeded Robert W. Selander, who had been MasterCard’s chief executive officer since March 1997

Education:

  • Banga grew up and schooled across India, successively in Secunderabad, Jalandhar, Delhi, Hyderabad and in Shimla, where he finished his schooling.
  • Banga went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University
  • An MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Industry Profile:

  • He began his business career with Nestlé in 1981.
  • He later joined PepsiCo and was involved in the launch of its international fast food franchises in India as the economy liberalized.
  • Prior to joining MasterCard, Banga spent 13 years at Citigroup from 1996 as part of the bank’s senior management in the United States and Europe, Middle East, Africa regions before becoming chairman and chief executive officer of Citi’s international global consumer group in 2005.
  • He was chief executive officer of Citi Asia Pacific, responsible for all of the company’s business lines in the region, including institutional banking, alternative investments, wealth management, consumer banking and credit cards.
  • He was also a member of Citi’s senior leadership and executive committees.
  • Chairman of the US-India Business Council, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Financial Services Roundtable and The Economic Club of New York, and is a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association.
  • Banga was vice chairman of the board of trustees of the New York Hall of Science and a board member of the National Urban League.
  • He was formerly a business sponsor of Citi’s African heritage network – NYC.

Rakesh Kapoor

Rakesh Kapoor

Rakesh Kapoor is an Indian businessman, Chief Executive officer of Reckitt Benckiser plc, a UK FTSE-listed multinational consumer goods company, a major producer of health, hygiene and home products.

Introduction:

  • Rakesh Kapoor is an Indian businessman, Chief Executive officer of Reckitt Benckiser plc, a UK FTSE-listed multinational consumer goods company, a major producer of health, hygiene and home products.
  • Born on 4 August 1958.
  • He is an accomplished bridge player and a keen football and cricket fan.
  • Kapoor joined RB when it was known, pre-merger with Benckiser, as Reckitt & Colman in 1987.
  • Kapoor took over as CEO on 1 September 2011 from Bart Becht.

Education:

  • He completed his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi, India.
  • He has a BE (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani
  • He also has an MBA from XLRI- Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, India.

Industry Profile:

  • Kapoor joined RB when it was known, pre-merger with Benckiser, as Reckitt & Colman in 1987.
  • He served various roles including: Regional Sales Manager, North India; General Manager, Indian Southern Region; and Regional Marketing Director, South Asia.
  • In 1999, he was appointed Global Category Director, Pest Control.
  • Following the merger, he assumed the role of, Senior Vice President, Home Care.
  • He was appointed SVP, Regional Director, Northern Europe in 2001 and in July 2006, he was promoted to EVP, Category Development, with responsibility for global category management, research and development, media, market research and strategic alliances.
  • Kapoor took over as CEO on 1 September 2011 from Bart Becht, who had been in post since the company was created in 1999 through the merger of Benckiser with Reckitt & Colman.

Social Life:

  • Kapoor lives in London, England with his wife and two children.

 

Nitin Paranjpe

Nitin Paranjpe

Nitin Paranjpe is now the President of the Home Care Business of Unilever globally.

Introduction:

  • He is now the President of the Home Care Business of Unilever globally.
  • Before this global role and promotion, he was the MD and CEO of Hindustan Unilever, before which he served as Executive director of Hindustan Unilever since June 1, 2007.

Education:

  • He acquired Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering (BE) from College of Engineering, Pune.
  • He also acquired an MBA degree in Marketing from  Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai.

Industry Profile:

  • In his early years in Hindustan Unilever, Paranjpe worked as Area Sales Manager – Detergents.
  • After working as a Sales Manager in  Hindustan Unilever , he worked as an Product Manager- Detergents.
  •  In April 1996, he became the Branch Manager – Chennai and in February 1999 he was appointed as a member of the Project Millennium Team.
  • During 2001, he was an Executive Assistant to the Chairman and Executive Committee in Unilever London.
  • On his return to India in 2002, Paranjpe became the Category Head – Fabric Wash and Regional Brand Director (Asia) for several Laundry and Household Cleaning (HHC) brands.
  • In 2004, he became Vice President – Home Care (Laundry & HHC) India.
  •  He was appointed as the Executive Director for the Home & Personal Care business in March 2006.
  • Paranjpe was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in April 2008.
  • He is also an Executive Vice President of Unilever Companies in South Asia.
  • Paranjpe is a member of the Shareholders’ / Investors’ Grievance Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Company.