Cognizant announced that Vice Chairman and CEO Francisco D’Souza was named Chairman of the IT and Electronics Governors community at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland.

The World Economic Forum is an independent and impartial international organization for public-private cooperation with an objective to improve the state of the world. The IT and Electronics Governors community is a group of business leaders dedicated to ensuring the long-term sustainability of their industry and society.  A key focus for the community in 2019 will be addressing the industry’s challenge of trust and being responsible stewards of data and the many technologies and markets of industry firms, including artificial intelligence.

“The IT and Electronics Governors community is at the forefront of many developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as new technologies are changing the way we work, communicate, do business, acquire skills and make decisions as a society. We are pleased that Francisco D’Souza is demonstrating the leadership necessary to work with world leaders to grow the social and economic opportunities offered by the digital economy,” said Eric White, Head of Information Technology and Electronics at the World Economic Forum.

“I am honored to be leading this community and again participating in a World Economic Forum annual meeting, which highlights our industry’s efforts to demonstrate responsible and responsive corporate leadership. I look forward to working with my peers to identify our agenda and advance key industry initiatives in 2019. The IT and Electronics Governors community is an effective platform to help our industry address some of the challenges that arise as technology becomes ever more central to business and daily life,” said D’Souza.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos brings together the heads and members of more than 100 governments, top executives of the 1,000 foremost global companies, leaders of international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations as well as the most prominent cultural, societal and thought leaders.  The event is dedicated to defining priorities and shaping the Forum’s global, industry and regional agendas for the coming year.