As the founder of Cognizant Technology Solutions in 1994, Wijeyaraj (Kumar) Mahadeva was the driving force behind one of the fastest-growing technology services companies in the world. Kumar led the growth of Cognizant as Chairman and CEO for 10 years from startup to an S&P 500 company with a market value of over $5 Billion.

Prior to establishing Cognizant, Kumar was Chairman of Dun & Bradstreet India and China, responsible for business development in the region. Kumar also worked at AT&T, where he was Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, and at McKinsey and Company, where he was a consultant to CEOs of information technology companies on issues related to corporate development, strategy, and operations. He started his career in research and development at the British Broadcasting Corporation in London.

Kumar was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and has lived and worked in Europe, Asia and the US. He has a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University, England, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.