<\/a><\/p>\nFrancisco D'Souza, President and CEO of Cognizant (click for bio)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Francisco D’Souza:<\/strong> After finishing my graduate work at Carnegie Mellon University, I took a job as a management associate with Dun & Bradstreet. Early on, I was presented with an opportunity to work with a team to build D&B\u2019s first IT captive in India. I jumped at the opportunity. In 1994, that captive was spun off in to Cognizant and the rest, as they say, is history. I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that I never imagined running a $4.6 billion business! On the contrary, I just focused on doing things along the way that I enjoyed and which provided me opportunities to grow and learn. The rest just happened\u2026 I also have to say that we have the best team in the industry at Cognizant and my achievements are a reflection of their work; it was by no means an individual effort.<\/p>\nHfS Research: <\/strong>If you had your time again, would you choose the same path? If you weren\u2019t a techno-preneur what would you choose to be doing?<\/span><\/p>\nFrancisco D’Souza: <\/strong>I am incredibly happy with where I am today and Cognizant\u2019s trajectory for the future; it is impossible to look back and wish I had taken a different path.<\/p>\nBut, if I had to do anything else in life I would have wanted to be an inventor. I am overwhelmed by the power new technologies have on people\u2019s lives \u2013 the power to dramatically change people\u2019s levels of productivity or their standard of living. To contribute to that would be incredible. Plus, I love to work with my hands. In my basement, I have a room that\u2019s just for me. Even my wife and kids aren\u2019t allowed in because it\u2019s a mess. I have all sorts of things in there, like a whole collection of old brass telegraph keys that are anywhere from 50 to 150 years old. I love this period; the days of Morse, Marconi and Edison and the beginning of electronic communication.<\/p>\n
HfS Research: <\/strong>And finally, being one of the youngest CEOs on the Nasdaq today, what advice do you have to many of us forging our careers in today\u2019s services industry? Are the core traits of success today different than they were 5 years\u2019 ago?<\/span><\/p>\nFrancisco D’Souza: <\/strong>In my mind, the key to success is the same for anything you do \u2013 dedicate yourself to something you love and don\u2019t be afraid to take risks. If it feels like work, or if you are not passionate about what you\u2019re doing, you won\u2019t have the energy to put in the time and effort needed to be successful.<\/p>\nHfS Research:<\/strong> Frank, thanks for your time today – we look forward to sharing this discussion with our readers.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Part I of our interview with Francisco D’Souza, President and CEO of Cognizant, we discussed the rampant growth Cognizant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,81,88],"tags":[335],"ppma_author":[19],"yoast_head":"\n
Frank about Frank, Part II: a little about Frank himself - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n