Rajiv Naithani has been appointed as the Chief People Officer (CPO) at Persistent Systems, effective 1 August 2025, as part of a planned leadership succession. The announcement was made via a regulatory filing by the company, confirming that Naithani will take over from Yogesh Patgaonkar, who is set to retire from the position on 31 July 2025. This strategic elevation underlines Persistent’s commitment to continuity and its focus on fostering a forward-looking people strategy aligned with business scalability.
Naithani, who currently serves as Senior Vice President – HR & Organisational Development at Persistent Systems, brings a rich legacy of over two decades in human resources leadership. His new mandate will involve driving AI-powered, people-first HR transformations, with a focus on building a high-performance, future-ready workforce. The appointment reflects Persistent’s efforts to blend technology innovation with progressive talent practices as it scales its global presence in digital engineering and IT services.
Before joining Persistent, Rajiv held the role of Chief People Officer at Infogain, and has also worked in pivotal HR leadership roles at Dassault Systèmes, GlobalLogic, InterGlobe Technologies, and HCL Technologies. His extensive experience spans leadership development, HR capability building, cultural integration, M&A, and compensation and benefits, which positions him strongly to take on the evolving challenges in HR leadership in the technology sector. Outgoing CPO Yogesh Patgaonkar will conclude his tenure on 31 July 2025 after serving more than three years with the company. His contributions in driving organisational transformation, enhancing people practices, and fostering a values-driven culture have been pivotal during a period of intense growth at Persistent. The leadership change was disclosed in an exchange filing dated 24 July 2025, in accordance with SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements for listed entities on BSE and NSE.
The elevation of Rajiv Naithani marks a seamless internal succession that reflects Persistent’s strong leadership bench and strategic approach to talent continuity. As the company accelerates toward its next phase of growth, Naithani’s leadership is expected to play a key role in shaping its people agenda and talent competitiveness on a global scale.