Infosys loses another veteran as senior VP Binny Mathews joins Accenture

Infosys veteran and senior executive Binny Mathews joined rival firm Accenture amid the string of senior resignations in the former.

Indian IT giant Infosys, currently in the midst of a poaching war Cognizant, has lost another senior executive, this time to rival firm Accenture. Infosys' former senior executive Binny Mathews joined Accenture as the chief procurement officer.

Infosys lost its senior VP of procurement Binny Mathews to Accenture (Reuters)(REUTERS)

The global IT consulting firm said in a statement that Binny Mathews has joined Accenture as the chief procurement officer and head of the company's Procurement Plus (P+) capability.

Before joining Accenture, Mathews had been with Infosys for over 15 years and was senior vice president and group head of procurement. He joined Accenture on January 3, being the most recent senior executive to part ways with the Indian IT firm.

"Mathews will be responsible for leading the strategic direction for Accenture’s global procurement spend. This includes continuing the transformation of the company’s supply chain into a sustainable, diverse value chain, committed to responsible and profitable buying and 360° supplier partnerships," Accenture said in a statement, reported Economic Times.

Mathews has worked in the Tata Group, FreeMarkets (now SAP Ariba) and Marico in their procurement wings before joining Infosys as a senior VP in the department. Accenture has also recently announced the appointment of five senior level executives, including Manish Sharma as its North America CEO, and John Walsh as its chief operating officer.

This comes as Infosys hinted at taking action against rival IT firm Cognizant for "unethically poaching" a few of the IT firm's senior executives last month, sparking an IT poaching war in the sector.

Infosys, Wipro vs Cognizant continues

IT firms Infosys and Wipro have been waging war against rival firm Cognizant, accusing the company of unethical poaching tactics. Under the recent restructuring in Cognizant, the firm has hired around 20 new executives, a dozen of which are from Infosys and Wipro.

Wipro filed two lawsuits against its former employees who joined Cognizant, including CFO Jatin Dalal for breach of contract. However, the lawsuit got sent to arbitration after Dalal filed an appeal in the lower court.

Meanwhile, Infosys had also sent a strong communication to its rival firm Cognizant, accusing the firm of unethical poaching techniques. Cognizant, however, has issued no statement in this regard.