Francisco D’Souza
Chief Executive Officer
Francisco D’Souza is the Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant and a member of its Board of Directors. Cognizant is a leading professional services company whose mission is to help clients around the world transform their business, operating and technology models in tandem to achieve the promise of digital technology at scale.
In his role as CEO, Francisco sets the strategic direction, promotes Cognizant’s values and client-first culture and focuses on ensuring the company’s sustainable growth and driving long-term stockholder value. He co-founded Cognizant in 1994 and has served as the company’s CEO since 2007, leading its revenue growth from $2.1 billion that year to $13.5 billion in 2016. Cognizant is ranked 205 on the Fortune 500 and consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world.
Francisco serves on GE’s Board of Directors, where he is a member of the Technology & Industrial Risk Committee. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, on the Board of Directors of the U.S.-India Business Council and as Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The New York Hall of Science, a center for interactive science that serves half a million students and teachers each year. He is a member of the World Economic Forum and a member of the Science Visiting Council for the science program NOVA.
Born in Kenya and the son of an Indian diplomat, Francisco is a global citizen who has lived in nine countries and traveled extensively to many more. He holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Macau and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.