CEO Humphries was dismissed without cause, says Cognizant

As per a regulatory filing, former CEO of Cognizant, Brian Humphries, was terminated without cause from his position, making him eligible for severance pay. His termination became effective on January 12, and he continued to serve as a special advisor until March 15. The company’s chairman, Stephen J Rolheder, stated that Cognizant’s Board believed that the company needed to progress faster and accelerate revenue growth, which required a CEO transition. Ravi Kumar succeeded Humphries as CEO effective January 13. Humphries’ compensation dropped 9% to $17.9 million in 2022, compared to $19.6 million. A shareholder has proposed a vote against termination pay, but the board has recommended against it. Cognizant’s Board has now adopted a new policy for terminated senior executives, which limits cash severance benefits to 2.99 times the sum of the executive’s base salary plus the target bonus for the year of termination.