Mid-sized IT company Coforge has appointed Akhil Gupta as its chairman, replacing O. P. Bhatta, who resigned earlier this month due to governance and disclosure issues.
The company announced in a late filing with the BSE on Monday that Gupta will serve as the non-executive independent director and chairman for a term of five years, starting September 29.
Previously, he held the position of Vice Chairman at Bharti Enterprises and serves on the boards of companies such as Zepto, Snapdeal, Eutelsat Communications, and Lodha Developers. Additionally, he is the chairman of Bharti Life Insurance.
Vivek Sharma, Non-Executive Director and Interim Chairman, noted that the company conducted 'a very thorough and intensive global search in partnership with Egon Zehnder, focusing on finding a candidate with the highest experience in management, professional expertise, and strategic vision.'
Coforge faced contradictions after its non-executive chairman Bhatta resigned immediately after an internal auditor raised questions about how the board of directors reviewed and presented the Board Evaluation Report (BER).
As part of the second-quarter internal audit plan, the auditor analyzed the process followed under the chairman's leadership regarding the board evaluation exercise and the subsequent BER presentation. The review revealed certain concerns regarding how the BER was handled, including the fact that some material information contained in or related to the BER, as well as the chairman's performance, was not fully disclosed.
Suthir Singh, CEO and Executive Director, stated: 'We are very pleased to welcome Akhil Gupta as chairman at a very important time for the industry and the company. Gupta played a crucial role in successfully navigating numerous business shifts at Bharti Enterprises during his tenure and association with Bharti Enterprises. As our industry, in turn, is geared towards an AI-driven era, and Coforge is moving to fulfill the promise of AI for enterprises, we welcome Gupta as he joins the board.'