Cognizant chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza said, Rajeev Mehta is a proven leader with strong client relationships forged over 20 years with the company.
IT major Cognizant has appointed company veteran Rajeev Mehta as its new president amid revealing an internal investigation into whether some payments in India violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The investigation is currently focused on a small number of company-owned facilities and is being conducted under oversight by the board's audit committee, with assistance from outside counsel, according to a filing Friday.
Mehta replaces Gordon Coburn, who has resigned from the company, Cognizant said in a statement.
Rajeev is a proven leader with strong client relationships forged over 20 years with the company, Cognizant chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza said.
"For the past decade, Raj has been responsible for leading our market-facing teams in delivering industry-leading growth. He has a deep understanding of new technologies and new delivery models, and their potential to fundamentally transform businesses," he said.
As chief executive officer (IT services), Mehta was responsible for market-facing activities across the company as well as for delivery across Cognizant's IT services business.
He has also served as Group chief executive (industries and markets) between January 1997 December 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The information technology services company has voluntarily notified the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission and is working with the agencies.
"The company is not able to predict what, if any, action may be taken by the DOJ, SEC, or any governmental authority in connection with the investigation or the effect of the matter on the company's results of operations, cash flows or financial position," Cognizant wrote in the filing.
Cognizant, which gave no reason for Coburn's departure, could not be reached immediately to comment on whether it was linked to the probe.
Cognizant's shares fell as much as 15% to $46.71 in early trading, their lowest in about two years after the company revealed the investigation. Cognizant is based in Teaneck, New Jersey but about three-quarters of its employees are in India.--Agencies.
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