Hexaware Technologies has appointed Vivek Jetley as CEO-designate, with Jetley scheduled to take charge on October 28, 2026. He will succeed Srikrishna Ramakarthikeyan, known as Keech, who will step down as chief executive and from the board after leading the company for 12 years. Ramakarthikeyan will remain associated with Hexaware as a senior advisor during the transition.
Jetley is moving from EXL, where he is President and heads its Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences businesses. EXL separately confirmed that his departure will become effective on October 26, two days before he assumes the Hexaware role. He has spent close to two decades at EXL, including a period running its analytics business and working across corporate strategy, partnerships, acquisitions, data and artificial intelligence.
The appointment matters for reasons beyond a change in name at the top.
Hexaware is not beginning an AI strategy under Jetley. It has already spent several quarters putting AI into software development, IT operations, data work and business processes. The incoming CEO's task is therefore likely to be measured less by the number of AI announcements and more by whether those investments produce larger accounts, more revenue and sustainable margins.
What Hexaware officially announced
Hexaware's September 2 announcement says Jetley will join the company and assume the CEO position on October 28.
The company described his background as spanning AI and data, business transformation, strategy, management consulting and the management of global businesses. It also highlighted his work at EXL Analytics and his later responsibility for the insurance, healthcare and life sciences businesses.
The board-approved appointment is for a four-year term from October 28, 2026. Ramakarthikeyan will cease to be CEO and whole-time director on that date and move to the senior advisor role.
That makes October 28 the formal point of transfer, rather than September 2, when the appointment was announced.
Who is Vivek Jetley?
Jetley's career makes this appointment different from a conventional internal succession.
He joined EXL in 2006 after EXL acquired Inductis, an analytics consulting business where Jetley was a partner. He later held roles covering strategy and strategic deals before becoming the head of EXL Analytics.
At EXL Analytics, his responsibilities covered analytics, AI services, data management and teams serving sectors including banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare, utilities, media and retail. More recently, he became President and took charge of the company's insurance, healthcare and life sciences businesses.
He also chairs EXL's global leadership committee and has led EXL Venture Labs, its innovation practice, according to EXL's published leadership profile. He began his career with Mitchell Madison Group and holds a computer engineering degree and an MBA from IIM Calcutta.
The combination matters because Hexaware does not only need someone familiar with AI technology. It needs someone who has run industry businesses where data and AI are sold as part of client work.
Practical impact for clients, employees and investors
- For clients, the immediate effect should be limited because the formal handover is structured and Ramakarthikeyan will remain as an advisor. Jetley's history in insurance, healthcare and analytics could become more visible in account strategy after he takes charge.
- For employees, Hexaware has not announced layoffs, organisational restructuring or workforce changes related to the CEO appointment. The company ended Q2 with 34,506 employees and added 708 people sequentially during the quarter, including 179 in IT.
- For investors, several numbers deserve more attention than leadership language: constant-currency growth, EBIT margin, $20-million-plus client additions, Healthcare and Insurance growth, top-10 client concentration, AI-linked deal wins and the company's definition of AI-related revenue.
- For the Indian IT sector, the appointment provides another example of the skills moving toward the CEO office. Technology knowledge alone is no longer sufficient. Boards increasingly need leaders who can connect technology with industry workflows, client budgets and P&L responsibility.
News4Bharat has been tracking the same move toward enterprise AI deployment in other parts of the market: Xebia Named OpenAI Select Partner as Enterprise AI Push Grows
For the regulatory side of enterprise AI adoption: AI Safety Standards in India 2026: Laws, Rules and Compliance Dates
What happens next?
Three dates and three metrics matter.
- First, October 26, when Jetley leaves EXL.
- Second, October 28, when he becomes CEO of Hexaware.
- Third, the first Hexaware financial reporting cycle after he assumes charge.
The first results under Jetley's leadership will matter because they can begin answering three questions:
- Does Healthcare and Insurance continue growing faster than company revenue?
- Does Hexaware add more $20-million and larger clients?
- Does management begin disclosing AI revenue or AI-led bookings with a clearer methodology?
There is another point to watch.
Jetley spent years inside an organisation built around data, analytics and industry operations. Hexaware already has software engineering, cloud, data, business-process and AI capabilities.
The question will be how those pieces are packaged and sold together.
That will tell investors more about the appointment than the CEO announcement itself.
News4Bharat POV
Most reports on the appointment have focused on Jetley's AI experience.
The numbers point to another angle.
In Q1CY26, Healthcare and Insurance accounted for about 23% of Hexaware's revenue, making it the company's second-largest industry group behind financial services. The segment grew 13.5% year-on-year in dollar terms during that quarter.
By Q2, Healthcare and Insurance revenue growth had accelerated to 18.9% year-on-year, while overall company revenue grew 6.1% in dollar terms. Manufacturing and Consumer grew 17.9%, Banking 10.8%, while Financial Services grew 1.4%.
Now consider Jetley's current job.
He runs Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences at EXL.
That creates a direct overlap between the incoming CEO's operating experience and one of Hexaware's largest and faster-growing areas.
The appointment can therefore be read in three layers
First, succession. Hexaware is replacing a CEO after 12 years.
Second, AI. Jetley has spent years working in analytics, data and AI.
Third, sector monetisation. His current responsibilities sit in the same industries where Hexaware is already seeing revenue growth.
The third layer could matter most over the next several years.
A technology services company does not generate returns simply by owning AI tools. It has to use those tools to win contracts, expand existing accounts and solve work inside sectors where it understands the processes, regulations and economics.
That is the test Jetley will inherit.
Sources reviewed: Hexaware Technologies corporate announcement, EXL investor-relations disclosure, EXL SEC filing, Hexaware Q2CY26 financial results, Hexaware investor presentation and historical annual reports.
methodology:
News4Bharat compared Hexaware's current operating data with earlier company disclosures and reviewed Jetley's present responsibilities at EXL to assess how his experience overlaps with Hexaware's business mix. Interpretations identified as News4Bharat Analysis are editorial conclusions, not company guidance.