LinkedIn has named Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as a LinkedIn Influencer. He joins a 500+ global collective of LinkedIn Influencers, who are the world’s foremost thinkers, leaders, and innovators from across geographies and industries, including eminent business personalities such as Satya Nadella, Vani Kola, Punit Renjen, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Doug McMillon, N. Chandrasekaran and Julie Sweet. These strong voices on the platform spark valuable, engaging discussions that matter to professionals around the world.
During his tenure of nearly two decades with TCS, Rajesh Gopinathan has played a vital role in charting the company’s growth within the IT industry and beyond. He joined TCS in 2001, and steadily rose the ranks to become the Chief Financial Officer in 2013. His contributions to the company’s operation model and organizational structure steered his next phase of growth, and he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of TCS in 2017. Under his leadership, TCS became one of the top three IT Services brands globally, a ‘Global Top Employer’ for the 5th consecutive year in 2020, and one of the most valuable companies in India.
A strong proponent of digital transformation, Rajesh Gopinathan sparks insightful discussions about how technology is key to powering global economies and sectors such as healthcare, government, and public services in the new normal. He has been an engaged and influential voice amid this pandemic, and has continued to engage with members, company leaders on latest technological advancements, emerging business trends, and has been sharing tips to help enterprises navigate the present-day crisis.
In his latest article on LinkedIn, Rajesh Gopinathan discusses how giving context to one’s interaction with technology is key to thriving in an increasingly digital world. In order to drive economic value in a post-Covid world, Rajesh also calls for a change in perspective, and a renewed focus on customer needs for innovation and strategic differentiation.
On being announced as a LinkedIn Influencer, Rajesh Gopinathan said, “The extent to which technology is embedded in our lives has been going up significantly. The COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced digital adoption further. The need to connect with people as well as collaborate with a larger ecosystem of partners, without constraints, is a key imperative that technology enables. I believe shared purposes have the power to bind ecosystems together. The key is to do this while staying relevant to the changing context. I look forward to leveraging the LinkedIn platform to gauge changes to the societal, business, and industry context and engaging with the global LinkedIn community to drive shared purposes.”
Speaking on the announcement, Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn said, “We are a members-first platform and we continue to ensure that our members and customers feel supported and inspired by the right conversations and content at this time. We are thrilled to welcome Rajesh as an Influencer on LinkedIn, and we look forward to his strong thought leadership on how to use the power of technology to drive change in the current crisis. He will be a source of inspiration to professionals, business-owners, and company leaders, and will play a pivotal role in how India Inc. moves forward.”
In a LinkedIn Live interaction with LinkedIn News Editor Dipti Jain today, Rajesh shares his views on the IT sector’s employment potential and the growing need for digital acceleration. A few excerpts below (in his own words):
On navigating the pandemic: “I’m impressed at the sheer scale and resilience we have seen across many parts of the economy… But I believe that the response that we are seeing all around us is way better than anything that we could have imagined, say six months back. So overall I believe the operative word is adaptability and resilience, and we are well past the challenge phase of this whole event.”
On the IT sector’s employment potential: “… India’s IT sector employment potential will continue to be quite strong and will relatively keep growing in pace with where we see the opportunity… Into the foreseeable future, IT services will remain very attractive and a significant part of the job environment in India, because I believe that the demand for talent and the demand for the services is only going to explode, given the role that technology is playing today and in future.”
On digital acceleration for enterprises: “There are kind of three horizons in which enterprises need to think about it. The first horizon, which has been further accelerated by the pandemic, is how resilient is your digital core… The phase two of it has been significantly driven by innovation and research and essentially integrating best practices across industries into your operating model… Phase three is a more challenging one and that will define it as purpose-led changes to industry structure by adopting ecosystems as an operating model.”
Advice to job seekers: “… To those who are in institutes that don’t have the repute today, you are in a position that’s much better than ever before. And equally a caveat for those who are in other institutes, that do not assume that the Institute bestows on you a special status, you will need to make sure that you’re using the facilities of the Institute to truly differentiate yourself against a larger population.”
