Coforge appoints former Bharti Enterprises executive Akhil Gupta as chairman after board upheaval

IT services company Coforge has appointed former Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Akhil Kumar Gupta as its chairperson and non-executive independent director for five years, effective Tuesday, as the company seeks to draw a line under a period of boardroom turmoil.

Gupta's appointment follows the abrupt resignation of former chairman and veteran banker O P Bhatt on September 9 after an internal audit found that he had withheld a board evaluation report that assigned his own performance category the lowest rating.

Also Read: KPMG audit revealed OP Bhatt suppressed key information as Coforge board chair


Following the departures, Coforge appointed non-executive independent director Vivek Sharma as interim chairperson and brought in global executive search firm Egon Zehnder to lead the search for a new chairman.

"We ran a very rigorous and intense global search process in partnership with Egon Zehnder with a focus on finding a candidate with the highest governance experience, professional expertise, and strategic perspectives - criteria that I had shared earlier at our investor meeting.

"A starting list of 60 exceptional candidates was whittled down over time, and Akhil emerged as the unanimous choice of all members of the NRC and the Board," Sharma said.

The episode wiped more than Rs 4,400 crore off Coforge's market value as its shares fell over 5%. Days later, nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) chairperson D K Singh also resigned, citing "differences" and "tension" between independent and executive directors.

The leadership upheaval had raised concerns among investors, but Coforge has maintained that the issue was entirely separate from its financial reporting.

The company has also reiterated that its four-year revenue guidance of close to $5 billion remains intact.

Welcoming Gupta, Coforge CEO and Executive Director Sudhir Singh said the new chairman was joining at an important time for both the company and the IT services industry.

Also Read: Coforge says chairman OP Bhatt instructed to hide audit findings from other board members

"We are very excited to have Mr Akhil Gupta join us as the chairperson at a very important time for the industry and the firm. Mr Gupta was instrumental in Bharti Enterprises successfully navigating multiple business shifts during his watch.

"As our industry, in turn, navigates the AI-led era and as Coforge pivots towards making the promise of AI real for enterprises, we welcome Mr Gupta as he steps onto the Board. We are excited at the immense opportunities ahead of us and thrilled to have a person of his calibre and governance experience join us as the chairperson of the Board."

Gupta, a chartered accountant with more than 40 years of professional experience, currently chairs the boards of 360 ONE WAM Ltd and Bharti Life Insurance Ltd. He is also a board member of Zepto, Snapdeal, Eutelsat Communications and Lodha Developers.