Francisco D'Souza
Encyclopedia
Francisco D'Souza is the president and CEO of Cognizant and was part of the team that founded the Nasdaq-100
company in 1994. In 2007, at the age of 38, he took over from Lakshmi Narayanan
, who was promoted to Vice Chairman. Francisco D'Souza is among the youngest Chief Executive Officers in the software services sector.
He is a person of Indian origin (PIO), born in Nairobi
, Kenya
in 1968, and has lived in 11 countries. His father was a diplomat with Indian Foreign Service
s. Francisco D'Souza holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of East Asia and a Master of Business Administration
degree from Carnegie-Mellon University.
industry, in both operational and advisory roles. Effective January 1, 2007, D'Souza was appointed President
and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors
of Cognizant. He oversees much of the operations and business development of the company, working closely with Cognizant clients who are using offshore resources to execute large software development and maintenance projects.
At Cognizant, which he joined in its early days, D'Souza was elected Chief Operating Officer in December 2003. Prior to that, from November 1999 to December 2003, he served as Senior Vice President, North American Operations and Business Development. From March 1998 to November 1999, he served as Vice President, 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.He is one of the CEO's who could achieve this feat at an early age and thus made Cognizant on remarkable stage,his long years of experience is a lesson to many.
From February 1995 to December 1995, D'Souza was employed as Product Manager at Pilot Software
. Between 1992 and 1995, D'Souza held various marketing, business development and technology management positions as a Management Associate at The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation in Germany
, the U.S. and India
. While working at The Dun & Bradstreet
Corporation, D'Souza was part of the team that established the software development
and maintenance business conducted by Cognizant.
D'Souza won The Economic Times
Entrepreneur Award in 2005. He was also a 2002 Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. In 2009 he was named among "America's Best CEOs" by Institutional Investor
magazine.
NASDAQ-100
The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The companies' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components...
company in 1994. In 2007, at the age of 38, he took over from Lakshmi Narayanan
Lakshmi Narayanan
Lakshmi Narayanan is the vice chairman and ex-CEO of Cognizant. He was the CEO and president of Cognizant until 2006. [1]Lakshmi has played a leading role in the global information technology industry for more than 25 years, managing divisions and business units in Europe, India and the United...
, who was promoted to Vice Chairman. Francisco D'Souza is among the youngest Chief Executive Officers in the software services sector.
He is a person of Indian origin (PIO), born in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 1968, and has lived in 11 countries. His father was a diplomat with Indian Foreign Service
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service is the foreign service of India. It is the body of career diplomats of India.The Indian Foreign Service is part of the Central Civil Services of the Government of India...
s. Francisco D'Souza holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of East Asia and a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
degree from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Profile
Francisco D'Souza has more than 20 years of experience in the information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
industry, in both operational and advisory roles. Effective January 1, 2007, D'Souza was appointed President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Cognizant. He oversees much of the operations and business development of the company, working closely with Cognizant clients who are using offshore resources to execute large software development and maintenance projects.
At Cognizant, which he joined in its early days, D'Souza was elected Chief Operating Officer in December 2003. Prior to that, from November 1999 to December 2003, he served as Senior Vice President, North American Operations and Business Development. From March 1998 to November 1999, he served as Vice President, 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.He is one of the CEO's who could achieve this feat at an early age and thus made Cognizant on remarkable stage,his long years of experience is a lesson to many.
From February 1995 to December 1995, D'Souza was employed as Product Manager at Pilot Software
Pilot software
Pilot Software, Inc. is a long-time United States business intelligence vendor that now focuses on operational performance management. Pilot, headquartered in Mountain View, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts, became an independent company in 2002...
. Between 1992 and 1995, D'Souza held various marketing, business development and technology management positions as a Management Associate at The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the U.S. and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. While working at The Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is a Fortune 500 public company headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, USA that provides information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, B2B marketing and supply chain management...
Corporation, D'Souza was part of the team that established the software development
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
and maintenance business conducted by Cognizant.
D'Souza won The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
Entrepreneur Award in 2005. He was also a 2002 Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. In 2009 he was named among "America's Best CEOs" by Institutional Investor
Institutional investor
Institutional investors are organizations which pool large sums of money and invest those sums in securities, real property and other investment assets...
magazine.