Jump to content

C Vijayakumar

The comprehensive free global encyclopedia of CEOs, corporate leadership, and business excellence
C Vijayakumar
C Vijayakumar
Born
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityIndian
EducationP.S.G. College of Technology (BE, Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
OccupationBusiness executive
CompanyHCLTech
TitleChief Executive Officer and Managing Director, HCLTech

C Vijayakumar (Vijayakumar Chinnaswamy), known within the industry as "CVK", is an Indian business executive who is the chief executive officer and managing director of HCLTech, the Noida-based information technology services and software company formerly known as HCL Technologies. He became President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2016, succeeding Anant Gupta, and added the title of managing director in July 2021 when the company's founder, Shiv Nadar, stepped down from that post.[1][2][3]

Vijayakumar has spent his entire career at HCL since 1994, when he joined HCL Comnet, a networking subsidiary, as a senior engineer after a few years as a research and development engineer at the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) in Bangalore. At Comnet he worked on the satellite-based trading network of the National Stock Exchange of India and later built the company's remote infrastructure management practice, which grew into HCL's infrastructure services business. He was president of that business, by then responsible for about $2.2 billion of revenue and around 30,000 employees, when he was named chief operating officer in July 2016.[4][5]

As chief executive, Vijayakumar set out the "Mode 1-2-3" strategy, which split the business into core services, newer digital services and a products and platforms business. The largest single move under that strategy was the $1.8 billion purchase of a group of IBM software products in 2018 and 2019, at the time described by Reuters as the largest acquisition ever made by an Indian IT services company. The deal formed the basis of the HCLSoftware division.[6][7] HCLTech passed $10 billion in annual revenue during the 2020-21 financial year. In the 12 months to September 2026, its consolidated revenue was $14.8 billion, and it employed more than 230,000 people.[8][9]

In July 2025 the HCLTech board reappointed Vijayakumar as chief executive and managing director for a term running from September 1, 2025 to March 31, 2030, and shareholders approved the reappointment at the annual general meeting of August 26, 2025.[10][3] His pay, drawn from the company's American subsidiary, was the highest among the chief executives of India's large IT services companies in the 2024-25 financial year. The company reported total remuneration of US$10.85 million for the 2024-25 financial year and US$18.13 million for 2025-26.[11][3] He is based in the United States and, as of 2020, lived in New Jersey.[4][12]

Early life and education

Vijayakumar was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.[13] HCLTech's board filings give his full name as Vijayakumar Chinnaswamy.[3] Business Today gave his age as 53 in December 2020.[4]

He studied at P.S.G. College of Technology in Tamil Nadu, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering.[14] Shiv Nadar, who founded the HCL group, had graduated from the same college. Speaking to Business Today in 2020, Vijayakumar said that this connection mattered to him: "He was a huge inspiration. I always looked up to him. It was a tremendous motivation to see him build a company and create a mark." According to the same profile, his interest in digital signal processing began while he was at college.[4]

Career

Centre for Development of Telematics

After graduating, Vijayakumar joined the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the Indian government's telecommunications research centre in Bangalore, as a research and development engineer. He spent a few years there in a team building indigenous satellite communication technology.[4]

HCL Comnet, 1994 to 2000s

Vijayakumar joined HCL Comnet, then a subsidiary of HCL Enterprise and later merged into HCL Technologies, in 1994 as a senior engineer. HCLTech describes him as part of Comnet's founding team.[14][4] His first assignment was at the National Stock Exchange of India in Mumbai, where his team helped set up the exchange's satellite-based trading network, which became operational in November 1994. He later called it "one of my proudest career moments because, for the first time (in India), trading was happening through the satellite network."[4] Indiaspora, a diaspora organisation, describes the project as India's first fully automated trading network.[13]

About five years after joining, Vijayakumar was leading Comnet in southern India. As Comnet moved into global IT infrastructure management, he was given the job of building its remote infrastructure management practice. In this model, a client's servers, networks and other infrastructure are monitored and run from offshore delivery centres. "We won a lot of IT services business for the company," he told Business Today.[4] HCLTech's own biography credits him with a central role in establishing the remote infrastructure management proposition.[14]

President, Infrastructure Services

The infrastructure management practice became HCL Technologies' infrastructure services business, and Vijayakumar became its president. In that role he was responsible for strategy, product, sales and delivery.[5] By 2016 the business had about $2.2 billion of revenue and around 30,000 employees, managing IT infrastructure for Fortune 500 companies, according to The Hindu BusinessLine.[5] Business Today reported that infrastructure services then contributed nearly 40 percent of the company's revenue.[4]

Chief operating officer, 2016

In July 2016, HCL Technologies named Vijayakumar chief operating officer, a newly created post. He kept responsibility for infrastructure services and was given a mandate to speed up growth in the core outsourcing business as the company combined its service lines into integrated offerings.[5][1] Business Today later described the role as transitional and noted that his predecessor as chief executive, Anant Gupta, had followed a similar path.[4]

Chief executive officer, 2016 to present

In October 2016, HCL Technologies announced that Anant Gupta had left the company "to pursue personal interests" and that Vijayakumar would become President and Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.[1] Shiv Nadar, then chairman and chief strategy officer, said: "Vijay has been a transformational leader in the company leading from the front. His vision and flawless execution track record best position him for taking our journey forward." The company said the appointment reflected its succession planning, and that Vijayakumar would stay based in the United States to be closer to clients and technology partners.[12] His stated brief was to accelerate the Mode 1-2-3 strategy. This meant growing "next generation" services such as digital, Internet of Things, cloud and cybersecurity, holding position in core services, and building the products and platforms business.[12] On his appointment he said he was "deeply humbled and honored" and would partner with the company's "ideapreneurs", HCL's term for its employees.[12]

HCL Technologies had revenue of nearly $7 billion in the 2016-17 financial year.[4] In the first quarter of the 2018-19 financial year it overtook Wipro to become India's third-largest IT services company, behind Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys. Business Today attributed the change to Vijayakumar's strategy and said the company had added more than $800 million of incremental revenue each year over the previous three years.[4]

In December 2018 he agreed the purchase of seven IBM software products for $1.8 billion, completed at the end of June 2019. The products then became the core of a new HCL Software division.[6][7] Other acquisitions in this period included C3i Solutions for $60 million, Actian Corporation for $330 million and the Australian IT firm DWS for $123 million, according to Business Today.[4]

In July 2020 Shiv Nadar stepped down as chairman and was succeeded by his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, while staying on as managing director and chief strategy officer.[15] During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company told its then roughly 150,000 employees that it would not cut salaries and would pay the previous year's promised bonuses. Vijayakumar said that the "resilience of our operating model" had supported margins and cash flow in the April to June 2020 quarter, despite lower revenue.[15]

In January 2021 the company reported that its revenue had crossed $10 billion, with headcount at 159,682 at the end of December 2020.[8]

Chief executive officer and managing director, 2021 to present

Shiv Nadar resigned as managing director with effect from the close of business on July 19, 2021, and became chairman emeritus and strategic adviser to the board. The board appointed Vijayakumar managing director, with the title of CEO and managing director, for five years from July 20, 2021.[2][3] He is the only managing director on the board, which is chaired by Roshni Nadar Malhotra as a non-executive director.[3]

In August 2023 the company agreed a six-year managed network services contract with Verizon Business, valued at an estimated $2.1 billion. The Economic Times described it as the largest deal in the company's history, exceeding a $1.3 billion renewal with Xerox in 2019.[16] In July 2023 it agreed to buy the German automotive engineering group ASAP for EUR 251 million.[17] In May 2024 it agreed to buy assets of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Communications Technology Group for $225 million.[18]

In July 2025, presenting results for the April to June quarter, Vijayakumar announced a restructuring programme intended to bring operating margins back to between 18 and 19 percent. It included giving up underused office space, mostly outside India, reducing staff in some overseas locations and making structural changes to align the company with demand for AI-led technology work. Net profit for the quarter fell 9.7 percent, partly because of a one-time loss linked to a client's bankruptcy, and the shares fell more than 4 percent on the day.[19] The company later reported that the restructuring had a one-time cost of ₹850 crore in the 2025-26 financial year and reduced that year's margin by 65 basis points.[20]

The board approved his reappointment as CEO and managing director in July 2025, for a term from September 1, 2025 to March 31, 2030.[10] Shareholders approved it at the annual general meeting on August 26, 2025, subject to Indian central government approval. Under the terms, either side can end the appointment with six months' notice.[3]

In his letter to shareholders for the 2025-26 financial year, Vijayakumar set out an aim to make HCLTech "the best AI solutions provider in the world". He said the company had become the first large Indian-headquartered technology services firm to report "Advanced AI" revenue, a category covering AI factories, physical AI, robotics, AI engineering and custom silicon. That revenue reached an annualised $620 million.[21] As of October 2026 he remained chief executive and managing director. Announcing results for the July to September 2026 quarter, he reported new bookings of $3.3 billion, and said that "our AI propositions are resonating well with our clients."[9]

Leadership and management style

Vijayakumar's best-known strategic framework is "Mode 1-2-3", introduced around the time he became chief executive. In Business Today's account it had three parts: strengthening the traditional core services such as infrastructure, engineering and application outsourcing, moving into the market for digital transformation services, and creating a separate products and platforms business, which the company called Mode 3.[7][4] He has argued that this sets HCLTech apart from its Indian rivals: "Most Indian companies are largely focused on services whereas we have a services business and almost a billion dollar-plus product business. I think it's a different way of diversifying the portfolio."[4]

He has said that he does not benchmark the company against particular competitors: "Honestly, we have never chased any particular service provider. We respect all of them and everybody has got good services, good products."[4] Asked about his approach to work, he told Business Today: "If you deliver any task given to you with passion, with an emphasis on delivering with perfection, that's what will drive you to do better; and that will get you recognised." The magazine reported that this was also the mantra he gave his teams.[4]

Vijayakumar runs HCLTech from the United States. He stayed in the US on becoming chief executive, and his pay is drawn from HCL America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in California.[12][3]

In the AI period his stated approach has been to treat the technology as an opportunity rather than a threat. "At HCLTech, we have always treated disruption not as a threat but as a catalyst for reinvention and growth," he wrote in the 2025-26 annual report. He described a strategy built on five "vectors": AI-led service transformation, proprietary intellectual property, new AI-led businesses such as AI advisory and AI data centre services, partnerships across the AI ecosystem, and retraining staff. On staffing he wrote that "our focus is not to replace people with AI but to amplify their potential". He said that more than 144,000 employees had been trained in generative AI during the year.[21]

Major deals and strategic decisions

IBM software products, 2018 to 2019

On December 7, 2018, HCL Technologies and IBM announced an agreement under which HCL would buy seven IBM software products for $1.8 billion: AppScan, BigFix, Unica, Commerce, Portal, Notes and Domino, and Connections. HCL already had an intellectual property partnership with IBM for five of them.[22] Vijayakumar said the products were "in large growing market areas like Security, Marketing and Commerce which are strategic segments for HCL". He added that combining them with HCL's services offered "tremendous potential for creating compelling 'as-a-service' offerings".[22] Reuters reported that the deal was the largest ever by an Indian IT services firm. It was to be funded from internal accruals and $300 million of debt.[6]

Investors and analysts were sceptical. HCL shares fell as much as 7.7 percent on the day of the announcement, which removed about $1.5 billion from the company's market value. Axis Capital said the products were in the middle or end of their life cycles. Sudheer Guntupalli of Ambit Capital called the deal "a negative from HCL's standpoint", saying the company would have to keep investing to stop the products becoming obsolete.[6] Vijayakumar later defended the deal as a way of gaining market access in products. He argued that the products could be modernised as they moved to software-as-a-service: "With our product engineering heritage, we thought we could innovate and bring the much-needed differentiation and gain access to a very large set of customers, which would give us market permission to play the product business."[4] In the July to September 2020 quarter, the products business had close to $400 million of revenue and an operating margin of 28.7 percent. Vijayakumar said at the time that it was "delivering better than the business case".[4]

The deal closed at the end of June 2019, when HCL took over research and development, sales, marketing, delivery and support for the products and launched HCL Software as a new business unit.[7] In the 2025-26 financial year HCLSoftware's revenue was ₹11,986 crore.[21]

Other acquisitions, 2017 to 2020

Business Today reported that, besides the IBM deal, HCL Tech made several acquisitions from 2017 onwards costing more than $700 million in total. These included C3i Solutions for $60 million, Actian Corporation for $330 million and DWS for $123 million.[4] The DWS purchase gave the company an Australian IT services business, and its revenue was included in guidance from the December 2020 quarter.[8]

Verizon Business contract, 2023

In August 2023 Verizon Business made HCLTech its primary partner for managed network services in deployments for global enterprise customers. The contract ran for six years, with an estimated total contract value of $2.1 billion. Under the arrangement Verizon kept customer acquisition and sales, HCLTech took over implementation and ongoing support, and some Verizon staff moved to HCLTech. "Managed Network Services is core to our business," Vijayakumar said.[16]

ASAP Group, 2023

In July 2023, under Vijayakumar, the company agreed to buy all of ASAP Group, an automotive engineering firm based in Ingolstadt, Germany, for EUR 251 million in cash through its UK subsidiary. The deal was meant to strengthen the company in autonomous driving, electric mobility and connected vehicles.[17][23]

Hewlett Packard Enterprise telecom businesses, 2024 to 2026

In May 2024 the company agreed to buy assets of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Communications Technology Group for $225 million in cash, taking on about 1,500 employees and 700 contractors. Vijayakumar said the deal added "direct relationships with global CSPs that include 20 of the Top 30", meaning communications service providers.[18] In December 2025 the company agreed to buy HPE's Telco Solutions business as well, and it completed that purchase in August 2026.[24]

Software and AI acquisitions, 2025 to 2026

In the 2025-26 financial year HCLSoftware bought Wobby, a start-up that makes an AI data analyst agent. The company also bought Finergic, a Singapore-based specialist in banking and wealth management systems, and agreed to buy Jaspersoft, an embedded analytics business.[20] The Jaspersoft purchase from Cloud Software Group was completed in July 2026. In the same month HCLTech disclosed a contract with a European Fortune Global 50 company, estimated at $1.14 billion, to run its digital workplace and enterprise networks from July 2026 to December 2031.[25]

In October 2026 HCLTech announced a partnership with the AI company Anthropic. Under it, the company would set up a dedicated Anthropic business unit and centre of excellence, and HCLSoftware would build Anthropic's Claude models into products including BigFix and AppScan. Vijayakumar said that "few technology companies combine the scale of a global systems integrator with the product depth of an ISV", meaning an independent software vendor.[26] In his 2025-26 shareholder letter he also pointed to partnerships with OpenAI, Nvidia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[21]

Financial and market performance

HCL Technologies had revenue of nearly $7 billion in the 2016-17 financial year, when Vijayakumar became chief executive.[4] Reuters reported revenue of ₹505.69 billion ($7.16 billion) for 2017-18.[6] The company crossed $10 billion of annual revenue in the 2020-21 financial year.[8] In the 2025-26 financial year revenue was ₹130,144 crore, up 11.2 percent, and constant-currency growth was 3.9 percent. Net income was ₹17,361 crore before a one-time charge for India's new labour codes, and new contract bookings were $9.3 billion.[21] The company said its constant-currency revenue had grown at a compound annual rate of 9.3 percent over the previous decade.[20] For the July to September 2026 quarter it reported revenue of $3.7 billion, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, an operating margin of 18.2 percent and record quarterly net income of ₹5,132 crore.[9]

In its 2024-25 annual report, HCLTech said its market capitalisation had risen from ₹1.15 trillion in March 2016 to ₹4.32 trillion in March 2025, nearly 3.8 times. It compared this with average growth of about 2.5 times at the other four largest Indian IT services firms, and gave the comparison as part of its reasons for increasing Vijayakumar's pay.[27]

Headcount rose from about 150,000 in mid-2020 and 159,682 at the end of December 2020 to 227,181 at the end of March 2026.[15][8][20] By the end of September 2026 the company had more than 230,000 employees, after adding 6,450 people in the July to September quarter.[9]

Compensation

Vijayakumar's pay has drawn press attention because it is higher than that of the chief executives of larger Indian rivals. For the 2024-25 financial year he received US$10.85 million (about ₹94.6 crore). This was made up of base salary of US$1.96 million, a performance bonus of US$1.73 million, US$6.96 million from exercised restricted stock units, and US$0.20 million in benefits. In the same year the chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services received ₹26.52 crore, and the chief executive of Infosys received ₹80.62 crore.[11] The board approved an increase of more than 71 percent, to US$18.6 million, from April 1, 2025.[11]

For the 2025-26 financial year the company reported Vijayakumar's total pay as US$18.13 million: base salary of US$2.48 million, a performance bonus of US$2.00 million, a cash long-term incentive of US$3.94 million, US$9.40 million from exercised restricted stock units, and US$0.31 million in benefits. Long-term incentives are paid every two years against targets set by the board. He received no pay from the Indian parent company directly. On March 31, 2026 he held 1,523,755 HCLTech shares.[3]

Board memberships and outside roles

Vijayakumar has been a director of HCL Technologies since July 20, 2021, and attended all eight board meetings held in the 2025-26 financial year.[3] According to the company, he is a director of several subsidiaries: HCL America Inc., HCL America Solutions Inc., HCL Latin America Holdings LLC, HCL Canada Inc. and Geometric Americas, Inc.[14] As of March 31, 2026 he held no directorships in other Indian listed companies.[3]

Outside the company, Vijayakumar is listed by HCLTech as a member of the World Economic Forum's IT Governors community, a board member of the US-India Business Council and a member of The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council. HCLTech also says he is a champion of the UN Global Compact's Water Resilience Coalition.[14][10]

Personal life

In 2020 Business Today reported that Vijayakumar lived in New Jersey with his wife, Vanitha, and their daughter, Divya. He told the magazine that he had studied subjects including astronomy, Vedic astrology, yoga and meditation intensively at different times, but had not kept any of them up long enough to call it a hobby. He said he enjoyed reading on varied topics.[4]

Recognition

  • 2021: Business Today, Best CEO in the IT and ITES category, in its India's Best CEOs awards announced in January 2021.[28]
  • HfS Research, Top 10 Disruptive CEOs list.[13]
  • 2024: Institutional Investor Research, ranked first in the Best CEO category, overall and sell-side, in its 14th Asia Executive Team survey.[14]
  • 2025: Extel Executive Team rankings, Best CEO, ranked first among sell-side respondents and second overall.[21]
  • 2025: People Matters, CEO of the Year at the Infini-T Awards India.[21]
  • 2025: Fortune India, India's Best CEO in IT Services (Large Cap), the second consecutive year he received the award.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "HCL Tech CEO Anant Gupta quits, C Vijayakumar to succeed". October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Shiv Nadar steps down as MD of HCL Tech; appointed Chairman Emeritus". July 20, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 "Corporate Governance Report, Integrated Annual Report 2025-26". HCL Technologies Limited. 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 "Raising the Bar". December 24, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "HCL Tech appoints COO". July 16, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "In biggest Indian IT deal, HCL Tech to buy $1.8b of IBM software". December 8, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "HCL Technologies announces close of acquisition of select IBM products". July 1, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "HCL Tech Q3FY21: Revenue reaches $10 billion mark; FY21 guidance at 2-3%". January 15, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "HCLTech delivers strong Q2 led by record deal bookings of $3.3 billion". HCLTech. October 12, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "HCLTech re-appoints C Vijayakumar as CEO & MD". July 26, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar Earns $10.85 Million In FY25, Surpasses TCS & Infosys Chiefs In Compensation". August 3, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "HCL Technologies Appoints C Vijayakumar as Chief Executive Officer". Business Wire. October 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "C Vijaykumar". Indiaspora. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 "C Vijayakumar, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director". HCLTech. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Shiv Nadar quits as HCL Tech chairman, hands over reins to daughter Roshni". July 17, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "HCLTech wins $2.1 billion Verizon deal". August 10, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "HCLTech acquires German autonomous driving tech firm ASAP for $279 mn". July 13, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "HCLTech to buy Hewlett Packard's communications tech assets for $225 million". May 24, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  19. ↑ "HCLTech Shares Fall Over 4% After Q1 Profit Slump, Restructuring Plan Announced Amid Margin Pressure". July 15, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 "Management Discussion and Analysis, Integrated Annual Report 2025-26". HCL Technologies Limited. 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 "Corporate Overview, Integrated Annual Report 2025-26". HCL Technologies Limited. 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "HCL Technologies to Acquire Select IBM Software Products for $1.8B". ICTbusiness.biz. December 10, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ "HCL Technologies inks deal with ASAP Group for about Rs 2,300 crore". July 13, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  24. ↑ "HCL Technologies completes acquisition of HPE's Telco Solutions business". August 3, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  25. ↑ "HCL Technologies Share Price Gains Over 4%; Completes Acquisition of Jaspersoft and Signs $1.14 Billion AI-Driven Digital Transformation Partnership". Angel One. July 3, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  26. ↑ "HCLTech and Anthropic sign Global Premier Partnership to scale governed Agentic AI". HCLTech. October 12, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  27. ↑ "HCLTech CEO C. Vijayakumar earned Rs94.6 Crore in FY25; set to make Rs154 crore next year". August 3, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  28. ↑ "BT MindRush 2021: Here are the winners of 'India's Best CEOs'". January 23, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://ceo.wiki/index.php?title=C_Vijayakumar&oldid=9752"