Coforge Appoints Akhil Gupta as Chairman
Only two weeks after revealing a search for its new chairman, Noida-based Coforge has named Akhil Gupta, the ex-Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, as its new non-executive Chairman.
Gupta, a seasoned professional who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors for 360 ONE WAM Ltd and Bharti Life Insurance Ltd, is additionally a board member for firms like Zepto, Snapdeal, Eutelsat Communications, and Lodha Developers.
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Gupta will be appointed, effective September 29, 2026, for a term of five years, pending approval from shareholders. In a late-night filing on Monday, the company stated that after a “thorough and intense global search process” beginning with 60 candidates, the selection of Gupta was unanimous, as every member of the NRC and Board deemed him the perfect choice.
“We diligently ensured that every element of NRC and Board procedures was adhered to while we evaluated an outstanding array of candidates,” states Vivek Sharma, Non-Executive Director and interim Chairperson, in a company announcement.
After the departures of the two independent directors, Coforge's proportion of independent directors on the board dropped below 50 percent. Among the seven directors, three are independent, two are nominees from Advent, and two serve as executive directors. Although interim Chair Vivek Sharma is recognized as an independent director, he additionally holds the position of Senior Advisor for AI at Advent.
Upon Gupta's appointment, Sudhir Singh, CEO and Executive Director, stated that his background at Bharti Enterprises and adapting to business changes position him perfectly as the IT sector transitions in the AI age.
“We are excited at the immense opportunities ahead of us and thrilled to have a person of his calibre and governance experience join us as the Chairperson of the Board,” Singh says.
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Due to the events at the company's board in September, Coforge's share price on the BSE has suffered significantly, declining by 10.86 percent in that timeframe. Egon Zehnder, an executive search firm, has been tasked with locating two independent directors to occupy the open board roles.
Most brokerages have downplayed the resignations as a sign of significant governance issues, since the firm has upheld its yearly growth and margin guidance objectives, asserting that the events were unrelated to the company’s financials or operations.
After the company's investor call to explain the updates, the Indian brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services noted that the composition of the board would now be an important aspect to observe. The note on Coforge indicated that, although the final makeup of the independent director pool, the nomination process, and the selection of a permanent Chairperson should offer more insight into the board's operation after the recent modifications,
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“we believe any future divestment in Advent's stake is likely to be accompanied by a corresponding change in board representation. We expect this transition to play out over the medium term, with the company’s management of the resulting board churn remaining a key monitorable,” the note dated September 15 stated.