Leadership in the Digital Era to Make Companies More Resilient

Krishnan Ramanujam

President, Business & Technology Services

The pandemic has accelerated changes across industries that had already been in motion for years. We may think of them as only happening since the coronavirus appeared last year. But, in fact, as I explain in my article in the new edition of TCS Perspectives, they have been around for a while:

The digital erasing of industry boundaries into cross-industry digital ecosystems. As JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said, the biggest threats to his bank are not rival banks but rather digital payment firms like PayPal, Venmo and Alipay – upstarts that don’t operate a single branch.
Remote work, enabled by powerful digital devices and broadband networks. We’ve had largely virtual companies for more than a decade, some sizable (for example, Automattic Inc., the firm behind the immensely popular content management system WordPress).
New C-suite roles to help companies become more digital. We’ve seen chief digital officers, chief customer experience officers, chief data officers and other digital roles go back a decade or more.

Nonetheless, the leadership teams of many global companies now need to deeply consider these and other fundamental digital changes in the ways their organizations operate. Competition is fiercer, products and services are more digital, and the way we create demand and supply for them must be more digital, too.

In my article (Leadership in the Digital Era: New Mandates, Mindsets and Mind-Melds), I explain why all this forces many company leaders to rethink their beliefs about how business must be conducted. As I explain, these mindsets are often rooted in the pre-digital era.

I also explain why simply thinking differently will not be enough. What also must change is the way a leadership team thinks as a group. Things like constructive disagreements become essential for leadership teams that are dealing with a future that is far less clear. Ultimately, I argue that the way the leadership team works together will define how resilient their company is.

About the author

Krishnan Ramanujam

As President of TCS’ Service Lines, Krishnan leads Consulting and Service Integration, Cognitive Business Operations and Digital Transformation Services globally. Krishnan drives forward the vision, direction and go-to-market strategy for TCS’ Services organization. In addition to fostering the development of new services and solutions, Krishnan and his leadership team, armed with expert skills and deep contextual knowledge of key industries, successfully guide complex global transformation initiatives for the world’s leading enterprises. Krishnan’s organization is focused on driving growth and transformation for TCS clients by spearheading and leading their evolution from IT-centric to customer-centric models which streamline and optimize business functions. Many of the world’s largest corporations rely on Krishnan and his teams to define and apply technology as the driver toward successful business outcomes. This, in turn, creates a path for TCS customers to create new business models and alternative revenue streams. By developing and leveraging best-in-class experts and offerings in Design Thinking, Consulting, Cloud, IoT, AI, Analytics and Enterprise Applications, Krishnan has successfully positioned TCS as the industry’s leading expert in enterprise transformations. In addition to helping TCS’ clients transform their businesses, Krishnan is focused on upskilling and reskilling thousands of employees, building collaborative workspaces, enhancing the management of contracts and partnerships and improving customer service. This business transformation will allow TCS to reduce overhead and time to market, drive efficiencies, invest in people and skills development, focus on customers and deliver smarter, better solutions-- faster than ever before. With more than 25 years of business and technology consulting experience at TCS, Krishnan’s previous leadership roles include VP & Global Head of Consulting & Enterprise Solutions; COO of TCS Financial Solutions; Executive Director for the State Bank of India Group Core Banking Program; Head of TCS’ Global e-Commerce & Enterprise Application Integration practice; and CTO for Tata Internet Services. Krishnan, who earned a B.S. and an M.S. in Engineering, lives in Mumbai, India with his wife and their two daughters. He enjoys non-fiction books, movies and tennis, and he is passionate about promoting education in India’s rural communities.

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The Leadership Mindsets That Make Companies Resilient

About the author

Krishnan Ramanujam

Where adaptability meets advantage

With you for the long run

Discover why customers choose TCS

Upcoming events

Recent recognitions

Want to be a global change-maker? Join our team.

Find the latest news about TCS in our Newsroom

Recent Press releases

Recent News

Global knowledge. Local support

About the author

Krishnan Ramanujam

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