On September 2, 2026, Hexaware Technologies dropped a bombshell. After 12 years at the helm, CEO R. Srikrishna (known as Keech) was stepping down 14 months before his term ended in March 2028. His replacement? Vivek Jetley, an outsider from EXL with zero traditional IT services experience. The board approved this decision in an 18-minute meeting—a speed that speaks volumes about Carlyle Group's ownership influence.
This wasn't a routine succession. It was a strategic reset.
The numbers tell the story. Between March 2025 and July 2026, Hexaware's compounded quarterly growth rate crawled along at 4.32%. Meanwhile, Coforge surged at 13.52% and Persistent Systems managed 8.76%. Hexaware's stock has plummeted 28.72% year-to-date, dramatically underperforming peers despite being the third-fastest growing billion-dollar IT services firm. Something had to give.
Srikrishna's tenure wasn't a failure by conventional metrics. He built a $1.5 billion revenue engine, achieved 7.6% revenue growth in CY25, and expanded EBIT margins by 80 basis points to 14.4%. But in the hyper-competitive mid-cap IT arena, steady wasn't enough.
The structural problems ran deep. Hexaware carried dangerous concentration risk—Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae alone accounted for $150 million in annual revenue. When political winds shifted in Washington and these government-sponsored enterprises implemented budget cuts, Hexaware took a 70 basis point annualized revenue hit. One large GSE client's consolidation efforts alone impacted 1% of total company revenue.
Meanwhile, Srikrishna made explicit trade-offs. "We are not in the phase of profit maximization," he told investors, choosing to invest in AI capabilities rather than maximize margins. But with peers like Coforge delivering 49% YoY growth in Q1 FY26 and boasting a $2.26 billion order book, the market lost patience with Hexaware's measured approach.
The Carlyle Group doesn't do gradual transitions. Having acquired Hexaware for $3 billion in 2021 and taken it public in February 2025, the private equity firm operates on a 5-7 year investment horizon. With the clock ticking and growth targets unmet, decisive action was inevitable.
Carlyle's board control made this possible. Five of Hexaware's non-independent directors are Carlyle-affiliated, including Sandra Horbach, Chair of Americas Corporate Private Equity. When she publicly endorsed Jetley's appointment, she wasn't just being polite—she was signaling strategic priorities. "Vivek brings a proven ability to scale businesses, deepen enterprise relationships and build Data and AI-led growth platforms," Horbach stated. The subtext was clear: Srikrishna built a strong foundation, but Jetley is expected to accelerate growth.
The 18-minute board meeting wasn't a sign of haste—it was a demonstration of alignment. When you own a controlling stake, you don't need lengthy debates. You need execution.
Vivek Jetley isn't your typical IT services CEO. He spent two decades at EXL, a data and analytics company that evolved from business process outsourcing into AI-led digital operations. Under his leadership, EXL's analytics business grew 25x since 2010, and he built one of the world's largest teams of data scientists.
This background is precisely what Hexaware needs right now. While traditional IT firms struggle to embed AI into client workflows, EXL has been doing it for years. Jetley led EXL's Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences businesses—verticals that align perfectly with Hexaware's target markets. He understands how AI can structure unorganized data, reduce manual effort in claims processing, and improve turnaround times in healthcare administration.
The competitive landscape validates this approach. Coforge's Nexa platform targets 30% efficiency gains in insurance operations. Persistent Systems is betting big on agentic AI. But Hexaware's Zero License offering takes a different tack—it helps enterprises replace bloated SaaS workflows with agentic AI that clients can host on their own servers. This addresses data sovereignty concerns while reducing dependency on Microsoft and Google licensing.
Zero License represents Hexaware's boldest strategic bet. The offering enables enterprises to progressively eliminate traditional SaaS licenses by replacing them with AI agents that handle intake, data capture, routing, and execution. It's particularly suited for workflow-heavy industries like healthcare, insurance, and banking—exactly where Jetley built his expertise at EXL.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services has taken notice, highlighting Zero License and tokenomics as "particularly interesting and differentiated areas." The brokerage noted that more than 50% of Hexaware's revenue is now AI-infused, and every new proposal includes a token-based pricing option. This commercial innovation—tying client payments to AI consumption rather than traditional time-and-materials—could be a game-changer if executed well.
The early traction is promising. Hexaware has built 65 parsers in its platform, won a Capital Market Institution deal, and management reports "few closed deals, several in pipeline." But the real test will be scaling these wins into meaningful revenue growth.
Hexaware's transition isn't happening in isolation. The IT services industry is experiencing unprecedented CEO turnover—199 exits through November 2025, comprising 11% of all CEO changes across sectors. The driving force? AI transformation.
But the approaches differ dramatically. Sonata Software promoted internal candidate Rajsekhar Datta Roy, who as Chief Delivery Officer led the company's AI-first transformation. Infosys chose Ashiss Kumar Dash, a 30-year insider, emphasizing institutional memory and values preservation. Both companies are preparing for AI transformation from positions of strength.
Hexaware, by contrast, chose disruption. This reveals the severity of its strategic challenges. While peers can afford continuity, Hexaware needs acceleration. The gap between 4.32% and 13.52% quarterly growth isn't just a performance issue—it's an existential threat in a market where 84.5% of channel partners expect AI software to drive growth in 2026.
Jetley takes the helm on October 28, 2026, with Srikrishna staying on as Senior Advisor to ensure smooth transition. The handover is structured to minimize disruption, but the strategic direction shift is unmistakable.
The challenges are significant. Hexaware must navigate cultural integration between EXL's BPO operational mindset and Hexaware's IT services innovation culture. It needs to demonstrate that integrated IT-BPO capabilities can win against specialized competitors. And it must deliver growth acceleration quickly enough to satisfy Carlyle's return expectations.
The opportunity, however, is equally substantial. If Jetley can successfully blend EXL's process-embedded AI expertise with Hexaware's technology platforms, the company could carve out a unique position at the intersection of IT services and next-generation BPO. The Zero License offering, combined with Jetley's analytics leadership, provides differentiation that peers currently lack.
The next 12-18 months will be telling. In an industry where "the pace at which operating environments are changing in 2026 is compressing the timeframe between 'this leader is doing well' and 'this leader is not the right person for the next chapter,'" Jetley doesn't have the luxury of a long honeymoon. Carlyle made a bold bet on an outsider to accelerate Hexaware's AI-led growth. The clock is ticking.