C. Vijayakumar

C. Vijayakumar
C. Vijayakumar
Birthplace	Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Business executive
Title	CEO and Managing Director
Employer	HCLTech
Known for	Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, HCLTech
Education	Bachelor of Engineering

C. Vijayakumar (commonly referred to as CVK) is an Indian business executive serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of HCLTech (formerly HCL Technologies), a multinational information technology services and consulting company headquartered in Noida, India. First appointed as CEO in October 2016, Vijayakumar has led the company through a period of sustained growth and strategic transformation, including significant expansions into cloud computing, digital services, and artificial intelligence. He assumed the additional role of Managing Director in July 2021 and was re-appointed for a third term as CEO and Managing Director in July 2025, with his tenure extended through March 31, 2030. As one of Indian IT's longest-serving CEOs, Vijayakumar has been instrumental in positioning HCLTech as one of the leading global technology companies. A career-long HCLTech executive, he rose through the ranks of the organization over more than two decades before being elevated to the top leadership position.

Early Life

C. Vijayakumar was born in Tamil Nadu, India. He attended the Lawrence School, Lovedale, a residential school located in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, known for its rigorous academic and extracurricular programs. Details about his family background and early childhood have not been extensively documented in public sources.

Education

Vijayakumar completed his schooling at Lawrence School, Lovedale in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. He subsequently pursued higher education at PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where he earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree. PSG College of Technology is one of the prominent engineering institutions in southern India and has produced several notable figures in the Indian technology sector.

Career

Early Career at HCL Technologies

Vijayakumar joined HCL Technologies early in his professional career and spent more than two decades at the company before being elevated to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Over the course of his tenure, he held a series of progressively senior leadership roles within the organization, gaining extensive experience across multiple business verticals and service lines.

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Vijayakumar served as President of the company and held responsibilities for several of HCL Technologies' key business units. He was appointed as the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2016, a role that further expanded his oversight of the firm's global operations. His deep familiarity with HCLTech's service portfolio, client relationships, and operational infrastructure positioned him as a natural successor for the top executive role.

Appointment as CEO (2016)

On October 24, 2016, HCL Technologies announced the appointment of C. Vijayakumar as Chief Executive Officer of the company. The announcement was made via a global press release distributed by Business Wire, in which the company outlined its confidence in Vijayakumar's ability to lead the organization through its next phase of growth. The appointment came at a time when the Indian IT services industry was undergoing significant structural changes, with growing demand for digital transformation services, cloud computing, and automation.

As CEO, Vijayakumar assumed responsibility for the overall strategic direction, operations, and business performance of HCLTech. His appointment reflected the company's preference for leadership continuity and internal talent development, as Vijayakumar had spent a substantial portion of his career within the HCL ecosystem.

Strategic Leadership and Transformation

Under Vijayakumar's leadership, HCLTech underwent a significant transformation in its business model and strategic focus. The company expanded its capabilities in several key areas, including digital services, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and engineering and R&D services. One of the most notable strategic moves during his tenure was HCLTech's acquisition of select IBM software products in 2018, a deal valued at approximately $1.8 billion, which significantly bolstered the company's software products portfolio and diversified its revenue streams.

The company also invested in building its capabilities in areas related to artificial intelligence and generative AI. Under Vijayakumar's stewardship, HCLTech became one of the few major Indian IT services companies to publicly disclose and report its generative AI-related revenue, a move that Vijayakumar described as providing stakeholders with a clear view of how the technology was being adopted and monetized.

In interviews published in 2025, Vijayakumar outlined HCLTech's strategy of focusing on new growth areas rather than relying solely on macroeconomic improvements. He identified AI-led software development, hardware-related services, and next-generation digital infrastructure as key pillars of the company's future growth. This approach positioned HCLTech to capitalize on the broader industry shift toward AI-integrated enterprise solutions.

Vijayakumar has been a public advocate for the strategic adoption of artificial intelligence in enterprise settings. In February 2025, he participated in the AI Leadership Mixer, an industry event where he discussed the practical challenges and opportunities of AI implementation alongside other technology leaders, including the CEO of Zscaler and the VP of Generative AI at Autodesk.

Appointment as Managing Director (2021)

In July 2021, Vijayakumar's role at HCLTech was expanded to include the title of Managing Director, in addition to his existing position as CEO. This dual designation consolidated his leadership authority and reflected the board's confidence in his stewardship of the company during a period that included the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The combined CEO and Managing Director role gave Vijayakumar broader executive authority over both strategic and operational matters, aligning HCLTech's governance structure with common practices among major Indian IT companies.

Re-appointment for Third Term (2025)

On July 25, 2025, it was reported that HCLTech's board of directors had approved the re-appointment of C. Vijayakumar as CEO and Managing Director for a third consecutive term, effective September 1, 2025, through March 31, 2030. The re-appointment was subject to shareholder approval. The decision made Vijayakumar one of the longest-serving CEOs in the Indian IT industry, a distinction noted by multiple business publications.

The extension of his tenure came at a time when HCLTech was navigating a complex business environment shaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, shifts in global IT spending patterns, and evolving client demands for integrated technology solutions. The board's decision to extend his mandate through 2030 signaled an intention to maintain strategic continuity during this period of industry-wide transformation.

Compensation

Vijayakumar's compensation has been a subject of industry attention, particularly in comparison with the pay packages of other leading Indian IT company CEOs. For the financial year 2024–25 (FY25), his total compensation was reported at $10.85 million, which exceeded the remuneration of the heads of other major Indian IT firms including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra.

In August 2025, it was further reported that HCLTech's board had approved a 71% hike in Vijayakumar's remuneration for FY26, further widening the gap between his compensation and that of his counterparts at other major Indian IT services companies. The compensation figures reflect both the scale of HCLTech's global operations and the board's assessment of Vijayakumar's leadership contributions.

Industry Engagement

Beyond his role at HCLTech, Vijayakumar has engaged with global industry forums and thought leadership platforms. He has been a contributor to the World Economic Forum, where he has shared perspectives on technology, business leadership, and the future of the digital economy.

His participation in industry events, panel discussions, and executive roundtables has contributed to shaping discourse on topics including enterprise AI adoption, the future of IT services delivery, and the role of technology in driving business innovation.

Recognition

C. Vijayakumar has received recognition for his leadership role in the Indian technology industry. In 2021, he was named among the winners of the Business Today "India's Best CEOs" awards at the BT MindRush 2021 event. The award recognized his contributions to steering HCLTech's growth and transformation strategy.

His tenure as one of the longest-serving CEOs among major Indian IT firms has itself been cited as a notable distinction within the industry, where CEO tenures at large companies have historically tended to be shorter. The multiple extensions of his appointment by HCLTech's board of directors have been interpreted by business analysts as a measure of the company's satisfaction with his leadership performance.

Vijayakumar's profile as an industry leader has also been shaped by his engagement with global platforms such as the World Economic Forum and his public commentary on emerging technology trends, particularly around artificial intelligence and its implications for the enterprise technology sector.

Legacy

C. Vijayakumar's tenure at the helm of HCLTech represents one of the longer and more consequential leadership periods in the Indian IT services industry. Since taking over as CEO in 2016, he has overseen a period during which HCLTech consolidated its position as one of India's top three IT services companies by revenue and expanded its global footprint across multiple geographies and service verticals.

His strategic emphasis on diversifying HCLTech's revenue base — particularly through the acquisition of IBM software products and the expansion into engineering, R&D, and AI-related services — has been noted as a differentiating factor in HCLTech's growth trajectory compared to its peers. The company's decision to publicly report generative AI revenue figures, a practice Vijayakumar has championed, has been cited as an example of transparency in how technology companies communicate the business impact of emerging technologies to investors and stakeholders.

As CEO and Managing Director with a mandate extending through 2030, Vijayakumar continues to shape HCLTech's strategy at a time when the global IT services industry faces transformative pressures from AI adoption, evolving client expectations, and changing workforce dynamics. His career trajectory — from an engineer at HCL to the company's top executive — also reflects a pattern of internal leadership development that has been characteristic of several major Indian IT companies.