Vineet Nayar

Nayar was born in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, where he spent his early years. He completed his schooling at Campus School, Pantnagar. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical engineering from the College of Technology, Pantnagar at G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. He subsequently received a Master's degree in Business Management from XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur.^[10]

After completing his academic education, Nayar joined HCL Limited in 1985.^[11] He left the company in 1992 to found Comnet in 1993, specializing in remote infrastructure management, which grew into a $1 billion technology management business.^[12] Nayar implemented several policies and practices at Comnet that later influenced HCL Technologies' "Employees First, Customers Second" philosophy.^[11]

In 1998, Comnet merged with HCL Technologies,^[10] forming HCL Comnet, where Nayar served as CEO.^[13] By 2005, he considered transitioning to social development and established the Sampark Foundation. However, he was asked by Shiv Nadar, co-founder of HCL Technologies, to continue leading the company.^[10] He was appointed President of HCL Technologies in 2005^[14] and became CEO two years later in 2007. In August 2008, he was appointed to the Board of Directors at HCL Technologies as a whole-time director.^[15] During his tenure, he increased the company's revenue sixfold to $4.7 billion annually.^[10][16]

Vineet Nayar is credited with transforming HCL Technologies into the fourth-largest IT company in India, with the workforce expanding from 30,000 to 90,000 during his tenure. Nayar was appointed Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies in November 2010. He received 12.50 lakh stock options in October 2010, and his remuneration was ₹8.43 crore in the 2012 fiscal year.^[17]

In June 2012, Nayar sold his entire stake in the company for ₹133.58 crore, which he directed towards the Sampark Foundation.^[11] He retired from the HCL board in December 2013 to focus on philanthropic activities but continues to serve as a senior advisor to HCL Technologies.^[2] Vineet Nayar was appointed to the board of the National Stock Exchange of India in July 2021.^[18]

He authored Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, published by Harvard Business Review in 2010.^[5] The book discusses the management practices used at HCL Technologies and explains the intellectual foundation for the transformation, as well as the lessons learned. It has sold over 100,000 copies.^[10]

The book was ranked seventh on Amazon UK's list of the 'Best Business Books of 2010' and was also included in the 'Best Business Books of 2010' by the Library Journal in the United States.^[19]

Vineet Nayar co-founded the Sampark Foundation^[20] in 2005, a philanthropic organization that focuses on enhancing primary education for millions of school students in India. In 2013, Nayar took an active role in the organization, committing to invest $100 million into its initiatives.^[21] He applies the concept of frugal innovation in his work^[10] and collaborates with state governments across eight Indian states, including Haryana, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.^[10] Their initiatives include distributing educational kits, setting up digital classrooms, and training teachers to improve their pedagogical skills.^[22] As of 2023, the Sampark Foundation has positively impacted approximately 10.49 million children and provided training for around 672,000 teachers in 123,000 government schools.^[21]