Hexaware Technologies Ltd announced on Wednesday that its chief executive officer, Ramakarthikeyan Srikrishna, will step down after a twelve‑year tenure. The company’s 11‑member board approved the appointment of Vivek Jetley, a two‑decade veteran of New York‑based business‑process outsourcing firm EXL, to a four‑year term as Hexaware’s new CEO. The board’s decision, made in an 18‑minute meeting, marks the first time the firm has installed an external successor.
Background of the incoming chief executive
Vivek Jetley joins Hexaware after leading a $1.4 billion segment at EXL that covered insurance, healthcare and life‑sciences businesses. He entered EXL in 2006 and spent twenty years rising through the ranks before being tapped for the top role at Hexaware. In the board’s statement, Sandra Horbach, a Hexaware board member and chair of Americas Corporate Private Equity at Carlyle, highlighted Jetley’s “proven ability to scale businesses, deepen enterprise relationships and build Data and AI‑led growth platforms.” Carlyle, a Pennsylvania‑based private‑equity firm, holds a 74.3 % stake in Hexaware and expressed enthusiasm for the new leadership.
Details of Srikrishna’s exit and legacy
Ramakarthikeyan Srikrishna, aged 56, is among India’s longest‑serving CEOs in the technology services sector. He guided Hexaware back to the public markets in February of the previous year, positioning the firm within the “billion‑dollar club” of Indian IT services firms. In his resignation letter, Srikrishna described his tenure as “one of the most fulfilling chapters of my professional life,” and thanked the board, shareholders and the broader Hexaware family for their trust. He will remain on‑board as a senior advisor and is slated to hand over responsibilities to Jetley on 28 October 2026, well before the end of his current five‑year term scheduled for 1 March 2028.
Under Srikrishna’s stewardship, Hexaware reported revenue of $1.54 billion for the fiscal year ending December, a 7.6 % increase year‑on‑year. The firm posted the third‑fastest growth among thirteen tech‑services companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion, trailing only Coforge Ltd (29.2 % growth) and Persistent Systems Ltd (17.4 % growth). Operating margin rose 80 basis points to 14.4 %, a modest improvement that placed Hexaware just above Mphasis, whose margin held at 15.3 %.
Performance challenges and strategic moves
Despite the revenue uplift, Hexaware’s compounded quarterly growth between March 2025 and July 2026 slowed to 1.76 %, lagging peers Coforge (7.62 %), Mphasis (1.82 %) and Persistent Systems (3.81 %). Analysts have linked the tepid growth to reliance on two of the company’s five largest accounts—Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—which together contributed roughly $150 million in revenue as of June last year.
In response to competitive pressure, Srikrishna’s final initiative introduced a “Zero License” service offering. The model enables clients to deploy software created by Hexaware’s AI teams on their own servers, sidestepping traditional licensing fees paid to cloud giants such as Microsoft and Google. Motilal Oswal Financial Services analysts Abhishek Pathak, Keval Bhagat and Suket Kothari praised the differentiated proposition, noting that the market narrative around “all SaaS is worthless” has softened and that per‑seat SaaS replacement in niche pockets remains a credible long‑term opportunity.
Market reaction to the leadership change was muted. Hexaware’s shares closed 1.3 % lower at ₹545.00 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Over the calendar year, the stock has fallen 28.72 %, the steepest decline among its billion‑dollar peers, while Coforge’s shares rose 18 % and Mphasis and Persistent Systems slipped roughly 11 % and 9 % respectively.
Industry context and peer comparisons
Hexaware’s external appointment mirrors a broader reshuffling in India’s high‑value IT services landscape. Sonata Software Ltd named Rajsekhar Datta Roy, a former chief delivery officer, as CEO on 9 May for a three‑year term, succeeding Samir Dhir. Two months later, Infosys Ltd announced Ashiss Kumar Dash as its CEO‑designate on 23 July, with a planned transition on 1 April 2027 when Salil Parekh’s second term concludes. Unlike Roy and Dash, who have spent more than two decades within their respective firms, Jetley arrives from outside, underscoring Hexaware’s intent to inject fresh perspective as it pursues AI‑driven growth.
Hexaware’s fiscal calendar runs from January to December, differing from the April‑to‑March schedule of most Indian IT companies. The company’s strategic focus on AI, data platforms and the Zero License model reflects an effort to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional outsourcing contracts, a move that may influence its competitive positioning in the coming years.
With Carlyle’s substantial equity stake and the board’s confidence in Jetley’s track record, Hexaware appears poised to navigate the challenges that have tempered its recent growth. The upcoming transition on 28 October 2026 will be closely watched by investors and industry observers seeking signs of accelerated performance under new leadership.
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