Coforge Limited has appointed Akhil Gupta as chairperson of its board and as a non-executive independent director, effective September 29, for a five-year term. The company’s announcement describes a global search; Moneycontrol’s reporting places the appointment after several weeks of boardroom strain and says the term remains subject to shareholder approval.
A chair arrives after an unsettled month
Gupta, formerly vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises, takes the seat after the departure of former chair O. P. Bhatt. Moneycontrol reports that Bhatt resigned on September 9 after an internal audit brought a board-evaluation report into focus, and that other board exits followed. Non-executive director Vivek Sharma served as interim chair during the search. Coforge’s own release confirms Sharma’s interim role and says the company worked with Egon Zehnder on the appointment process.
The company says the search began with 60 candidates and narrowed to a unanimous choice by its nomination and remuneration committee and board. Its stated criteria were governance experience, professional expertise and strategic perspective. That formal process is worth noting alongside the more unsettled context: the company’s public account emphasizes the search and Gupta’s credentials, while Moneycontrol documents the board departures that made a permanent chair a priority.
Experience across telecom and public-company boards
Gupta is a chartered accountant with more than 40 years of professional experience. Coforge lists his other board roles at 360 ONE WAM and Bharti Life Insurance, as well as directorships at Zepto, Snapdeal, Eutelsat Communications and Lodha Developers. CEO and executive director Sudhir Singh said Gupta’s experience guiding Bharti through business shifts would be useful as Coforge and the wider industry navigate an AI-led period.
The appointment comes with a defined governance step still ahead: shareholder approval. It also brings a new chair into a company whose interim leadership has been explicit about the search and selection process. The change belongs in the same wider boardroom conversation as Schroders’ appointment of Matthew Westerman as chair, where continuity and board leadership were central to the announcement.