Activist hedge fund, leadership shift leave imprint on Cognizant

New CEO of the US-based firm hints at realigning cost structure with focus on execution as steps for turnaround

Once considered a worthy competitor to the likes of Accenture and IBM, investors of Cognizant got a rude shock last week when the company guided its worst-ever revenue growth since inception. The market was not able to come to terms with the changes, given that the top management of the US-based information technology (IT) services firm had painted a rosy picture on its growth prospects just a quarter back.

Explaining the rationale behind such a drastic shift, industry experts said the change in the business model, with focus on margins after activist hedge fund Elliott came on board, seemed to be