Cognizant has appointed Rob Walker as Managing Director for its operations in the UK and Ireland, from January 1. He will be based in London and report to Ursula Morgenstern, Cognizant’s Head of Global Growth Markets.

Prior to joining Cognizant, Walker was with EY for almost 25 years as a UK-based partner. He has led a number of EY's practices and sector teams, including the technology, media, and telecommunications market, the risk advisory practice, and most recently the advisory market. His portfolio with EY includes FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 firms across a wide range of sectors and industries.

Morgenstern said of the new appointment: “"The UK and Ireland represent one of our biggest opportunities for growth and I am thrilled to welcome Rob to the Cognizant team as our new head of UK&I. We have a solid foundation in the region on which to build, and Rob's leadership experience across both internal and client transformation roles will help us accelerate growth in the UK&I."

Cognizant has been adding to its global growth leadership team in recent weeks. Just before Walker's appointment, the IT services specialist had also announced the appointment of Shinji Murakami as Head of Japan, effective January 4. And Morgenstern, the head of the global growth leadership team, joined the company just last month.