Cognizant names Soma Pandey Global Head of Talent Management

Soma Pandey joins the HR global leadership team of Cognizant as Head of Talent Management. In this role, Soma will drive and shape the enterprise talent strategy including addressing key people practices, talent and performance management, learning and leadership development, culture and employee experience.

Speaking on the appointment, Becky Schmitt, Chief People Officer, Cognizant said, “We are excited to welcome Soma to the Cognizant family at a time when we are investing in the career growth and engagement of our talent more than ever.  I look forward to how Soma will foster our distinct, high-performance culture, accelerate careers, drive engagement, and empower new-age leadership capabilities that will engineer impact for our clients.”

Cognizant continues to experience rapid growth, with more than 300,000 employees globally, the highest headcount in its history, and adding more than 17,000 new employees globally in last quarter alone. As the company continues to invest in employee success, career development, equity and inclusion, the role of  Global Head of Talent Management becomes more critical than ever before. That too with a prevailing talent crisis in the IT sector and the rise of great resignation. 

“Journeying through the long months of pandemic, we have embraced tremendous change and learned to be more human than ever. The learning we have gained is driving innovation, both as we think about the future of work and how we create energizing experiences for people that inspire, develop and engage them,” said Soma Pandey, Head of Talent Management, Cognizant.

Soma is said to be accomplished at envisioning and executing large-scale transformations in people practices, and has stewarded businesses through culture transformations, leadership transitions, business divestments and acquisitions, HR technology and shared services deployments in myriad global contexts. With a tectonic shift is underway, from company to people and from profit to purpose, as 2021 draws to a close, Soma has to spearhead bold steps towards a world of work that is fairer, more people-centric and inclusive.