Living the “catalyst” life

Raman Krishnan, AVP at Cognizant, drives transformation in audit and analytics functions, catalysing change with ethics and innovation.

In brief

• Raman Krishnan, AVP at Cognizant, has built his career by combining deep-rooted values with a strategic vision, driving organizational transformations.
• His leadership is defined by fostering independence and empowering teams, creating impactful changes within diverse corporate environments.
• Raman's personal and professional journey highlights the importance of ethical commitment and continuous learning in achieving lasting success.

Raman Krishnan, Assistant Vice President, Cognizant

Independence and responsible living — core values of his upbringing

Raman Krishnan was born and raised in a nuclear but tightly knit family in Chennai. Since early childhood, his father has always remained his role model, and has strongly influenced Raman’s value system while growing up. Even though Raman’s father was one of the brightest students in his class and always had a spotless record, there was no pressure on Raman for anything — education, extra-curricular activities, or choice of profession.

He shares that his father has shared several tenets of wisdom as they grew up, which became the defining characteristics of their nature. Narrating one example, he says, “he never seemed to mind if I refused to attend a marriage or any other auspicious ceremony but every time there was an adverse incident, such as someone in the hospital or someone passing away, he made it a point that we were there for that. It was subtle but powerful and talks to the deep equity my father enjoyed with friends and family alike!” 

This freedom of choice and independence that Raman received from his family had a profound impact on who he became as a person and ensures he follows this philosophy with his own kids. Raman and his wife Nandini, currently working with Oracle Functional , practices consulting, who he proudly says is a pivot in helping the family move forward together, are proud parents of two children — Ananya Raman,13 years, who is a national-level chess player and Advait Raman, 8 years who is following his passion for football. 

Defining professional moments

Raman enrolled at Madras Christian College for his undergraduate studies and was all ready to join the defense forces. Unfortunately, he had a personal exigency just before his final exams and had to abandon the idea and pursued a career in CA instead. Post that, he joined PKF India where his job required him to travel close to 300 days a year. Abiding by his life mantra, whatever time he could find for himself, he used it for learning and enhancing his knowledge and skills. After an intense innings, Raman had short stints with two of the other Big Four firms. A few years later, one of them required him to relocate outside of Chennai for a couple of years, which he was not keen to do, and hence started his journey with Franklin Templeton . 

Starting something new

With a stroke of luck, EY soon came calling to set up the forensics practice in Chennai, which Raman found very interesting. He grabbed the opportunity with both his hands, and the rest, as they say, is history. Raman was the first member of the Chennai Forensics practice when he started and, realizing his penchant for setting up new things, he helped successfully set up the practice in Chennai. Even though there was immense pressure, he believes the culture at EY made it very intriguing. So even during the days he stayed back late due to the work pressure, he always enjoyed those moments because he was never alone and had the entire team was with him in attendance. After a satisfying innings, he unfortunately had to move on from EY because of health reasons but even today, when he looks at EY from an industry standpoint, he sees how unique and different it is from other big companies and how it stands apart on culture, competence, and talent.