Cognizant's Vice Chairman Francisco D'Souza steps down from the board; Vinita Bali joins

Cognizant co-founder Francisco D’Souza is stepping down from the board of the company, a year after the IT services player brought in its first outside CEO.

D’Souza will leave the board effective March 31, the company said. D’Souza was elected to Cognizant’s Board of Directors in January 2007 and has served as Vice Chairman since June 2018. He co-founded Cognizant in 1994 and served as the company’s CEO from January 2007 through March 2019.

“Frank has been an extraordinary leader. He deserves enormous recognition for his achievements at Cognizant. On a personal level, I am fortunate to have him as a trusted confidant and sounding board,” said Brian Humphries, Cognizant CEO.


The company said Vinita Bali, the former managing director of Britannia Industries, will join the board as an independent director.

"We believe Vinita’s extensive and successful experience at large companies, both India-based and multinational, will make a significant contribution to Cognizant,” said Michael Patsalos-Fox, Cognizant's Chairman of the Board.