Cognizant CMO Chand leaves firm, churn in marketing team

BENGALURU: Cognizant continues to see top-level exits. Its chief marketing officer, Gaurav Chand, has quit the firm in what appears to be a sudden exit. Chand's name doesn’t appear on its website’s leadership roster. Cognizant has rolled out a search mandate to find Chand's successor. Chand's exit comes close on the heels of Sarat Varanasi, Cognizant's North America Insurance business unit leader responsible for driving $2 billion in sales, who quit the firm after a 17-year stint with the firm.

Chand was responsible for overseeing Cognizant's worldwide marketing efforts including brand management, creative direction, digital marketing, event planning, communications and corporate marketing strategies. In fact, he has been instrumental in driving many sports marketing campaigns, including the Aston Martin F-1 team, where Cognizant is the sponsor. The company was the title sponsor of the US’ Major League Cricket this year.

“We thank Gaurav Chand for his leadership since 2019, during which he oversaw all aspects of Cognizant’s global marketing. Senior vice-president of global marketing, Thea Hayden, a 25-year marketing veteran and seasoned Cognizant executive, will serve as our interim chief marketing officer while a global search for a permanent CMO is conducted. Her deep expertise and leadership will ensure a seamless transition and adeptly steer our marketing efforts forward,” the company said in a statement.

Chand’s exit comes at a time when the marketing team is seeing an exodus, with many professionals leaving the firm in quick succession. Cognizant didn’t respond to TOI's query on the exits in the marketing team.

Last year, Cognizant said it has embarked on a $400 million programme NextGen to boost margins by cutting workforce and real estate costs. NextGen involves job cuts to the tune of 1% of its workforce (3,500 jobs) across the corporate and non-billable personnel.