Number 19 is special for CP Gurnani, who recently celebrated a dual milestone — his 65th birthday (on December 19) and a fond farewell to his illustrious career, after a fulfilling 19 years at Tech Mahindra. 

“I relived 19 years in just a few hours yesterday. And now, I relive those hours in just a few minutes,” said Gurnani, adding that there are no words to describe how overwhelming this is – “just like there are no words to describe how grateful I am”. 

The past few days have taken Gurnani on an emotional roller coaster ride as he bids farewell to his illustrious career. He shared an emotional post on X, revealing that the Tech Mahindra team had 19 gifts for him — one for each of his years at the company. 

The most special one, #TechMKiMitti, was an hourglass with sand collected from their campuses all over, to always let him have a bit of TechM with him. “This almost had me teary-eyed,” he wrote. 

Last month, CP Gurnani announced that he would step down from the position of MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra on December 19 as well as from the roles of non-executive, non-independent director of the IT major on December 21. Following him, Mohit Joshi who resigned from Infosys on March 11, 2023, will join Tech Mahindra as the next CEO and managing director. 

What’s Next? 

While Gurnani has not publicly revealed his future plans, insiders at Tech Mahindra indicate that he is poised to relinquish all responsibilities within the company, directing his attention towards personal life and endeavours. 

However, Gurnani expresses his readiness for a transition, shifting from the role of a captain to that of a ‘coach’. “I don’t think I am even close to retiring. I will be shifting gears and transitioning into a new phase as a coach,” he said in a recent interview.

Dedicating a significant portion of his life to the tech industry, having attaining the position of CXO at 38, Gurnani now looks to explore a slightly different path. “I want to pursue endeavours that deeply resonate with my passions and values. I see it as a good time to embark on this personal journey of self-discovery after a long, fulfilling career,” he shared. 

Techno Optimist 

Gurnani has always been optimistic about the future, holding the opposite view to the prevailing opinion that AI may take away jobs. According to him, generative AI has the potential to create more jobs than it is expected to eliminate, despite widespread discussions on its potential to disrupt the job market on social media.

“The use cases of generative AI are still being defined, which means that it has the potential to create more job opportunities in the future. Undoubtedly, the possibilities are just opening up, and there is more to come,” said Gurnani. 

Not to forget, Gurnani was among the first ones to accept OpenAI’s ‘challenge’ promising to create something akin to ChatGPT. In June, Gurnani and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, engaged in Twitter exchanges, during which Gurnani asserted that India would create its own generative AI chatbot. 

Subsequently, Tech Mahindra revealed Project Indus a few weeks later, with the objective of constructing a foundational language model with a specific focus on Indian languages, notably Hindi and various dialects. Gurnani was the one who led this project, along with Rajesh Dhuddhu and Nikhil Malhotra.

With Gurnani retiring and new management taking over, it will be interesting to see how Project Indus shapes up. 

Believes in Hard Work 

Recently, Infosys founder Narayan Murthy’s remarks about youngsters working 70 hours a week was heavily debated, and Gurnani defended it. He said that young people should invest the 10,000 hours if that’s what it takes to become a master in their field. He added that this could involve burning the midnight oil to become an expert. 

He mentioned that when Murthy spoke about 70 hours, it didn’t necessarily mean for the company. Instead, he suggested that youngsters should allocate 40 hours for the company and reserve 30 hours for their personal development.

Gurnani’s Journey 

CP Gurnani graduated with a bachelor of engineering degree in chemical engineering from NIT- Rourkela. Subsequently, he commenced his early career as a process engineer at JK Synthetics, dedicating three years to the role. 

Following this initial stint, he transitioned to the technology firm HCL, where he held various significant positions, including roles at HCL Hewlett-Packard, HCL Perot System, and Perot Systems, accumulating a substantial 18 years of service from 1986 to 2004. 

By this point, Gurnani had already made a name for himself within the tech industry. In 2004, he made the pivotal move to Tech Mahindra, initially assuming the responsibility for the company’s international operations, sales, and marketing.

At Tech Mahindra, his most significant business accomplishment involved the acquisition of Satyam Computers, a feat spotlighted in a Harvard case study. Satyam Computers, was reeling from a major scandal with an uncertain future.

However, Gurnani saw Satyam’s crisis as an opportunity. He believed Satyam’s strong talent pool, global presence, and established clientele could be revitalized if paired with Mahindra’s financial stability and business expertise.

As his journey at Tech Mahindra comes to an end, Gurnani is overwhelmed with the love he received from his employees. “With so much love flowing in from all corners, I feel like a 5-year-old grandkid, not a 65-year-old grandfather,” he said.