Coforge has appointed former Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Akhil Kumar Gupta as its chairperson and non-executive independent director for five years.
IT services firm Coforge Ltd has appointed former Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Akhil Kumar Gupta as its chairperson and non-executive independent director for five years, effective Tuesday.
The appointment follows weeks of intense boardroom turmoil, triggered by the abrupt resignation of former chairman and veteran banker O P Bhatt on September 9 after an internal audit revealed that he had withheld a board evaluation report that assigned his own performance category the lowest rating.
The fallout, which wiped out more than Rs 4,400 crore in the company’s market valuation as shares tumbled over 5 per cent, escalated within days when Coforge’s nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) chairperson D K Singh also quit, citing “differences” and “tension” between independent and executive directors.
Global search for new leadership
Following the exits, the company named non-executive independent director Vivek Sharma as interim chairperson and roped in global executive search firm Egon Zehnder to lead the hunt for new leadership.
“We ran a very rigorous and intense global search process in partnership with Egon Zehnder with a focus on finding a candidate with the highest governance experience, professional expertise, and strategic perspectives – criteria that I had shared earlier at our investor meeting.
“A starting list of 60 exceptional candidates was whittled down over time, and Akhil emerged as the unanimous choice of all members of the NRC and the Board,” Sharma said.
Gupta brings over 40 years of experience
A chartered accountant with more than 40 years of professional experience, Gupta currently chairs the boards of 360 ONE WAM Ltd and Bharti Life Insurance Ltd, and serves as a board member of Zepto, Snapdeal, Eutelsat Communications, and Lodha Developers.
The appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders, Coforge said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
Welcoming the incoming chairperson, Coforge CEO and Executive Director Sudhir Singh said, “We are very excited to have Mr Akhil Gupta join us as the chairperson at a very important time for the industry and the firm. Mr Gupta was instrumental in Bharti Enterprises successfully navigating multiple business shifts during his watch.
“As our industry, in turn, navigates the AI-led era and as Coforge pivots towards making the promise of AI real for enterprises, we welcome Mr Gupta as he steps onto the Board. 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.”
Coforge maintains revenue guidance
Amid the recent leadership upheaval, the IT firm had maintained that the issue was entirely distinct from its financial reporting and that its four-year revenue guidance of close to USD 5 billion remains intact.
Published on September 29, 2026
