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India Vineet Nayar is a business executive, author, and philanthropist, renowned for his leadership at HCL Technologies and his impactful work with the Sampark Foundation.
Vineet Nayar is the founder of Sampark Foundation, a grant-making philanthropy co-founded with his wife, Anupama Nayar, in 2005. It aims to transform learning outcomes for millions of children in rural government schools by leveraging frugal innovation and a 'Teachers First' model. Nayar committed $100 million of his personal wealth to the foundation. By 2019, it had reached over 7 million students and 200,000 teachers across 90,000 public schools with a cost of $1 per child per annum. Their initiatives include distributing educational kits, setting up digital classrooms, and training teachers. As of 2023, it has impacted approximately 10.49 million children and trained around 672,000 teachers in 123,000 government schools.
Vineet Nayar served as the Chief Executive Officer (2007-2013) and Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies. He joined HCL in 1985 and later returned after founding Comnet, which merged with HCL. During his tenure as CEO, he transformed HCL Technologies into India's fourth-largest IT company, increasing its revenue sixfold to $4.7 billion annually and expanding the workforce from 30,000 to 90,000. He is known for implementing the 'Employees First, Customers Second' philosophy. He continues to serve as a senior advisor to the company.
Published Vineet Nayar's best-selling book, 'Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down', in 2010. The book details his management practices at HCL Technologies and the intellectual foundation behind the company's transformation. It sold over 100,000 copies and was recognized as one of the 'Best Business Books of 2010' by Amazon UK and Library Journal.
Vineet Nayar served as Governor of the ICT and was a member of the Global Advisory Board for Women Leaders and the Gender Parity Program. He was also a Community Partner of the Forum of Young Global Leaders and co-chaired the 2011 Annual Meeting of New Champions.
Vineet Nayar is a senior advisor to the McKinsey Leadership Institute and mentors 18 technology start-ups.
Vineet Nayar is involved with the Million Learning Project, which is led by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Vineet Nayar is a founding member of Brookings India.
Vineet Nayar is a member of the Advisory Board for the Global Talent Competitiveness Index, an initiative by INSEAD.
Vineet Nayar was appointed to the board of the National Stock Exchange of India in July 2021.
Born in 1962 in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, Vineet Nayar completed his schooling at Campus School, Pantnagar. He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Technology, Pantnagar, at G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. Furthering his education, he obtained a Master’s degree in Business Management from XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur. His professional journey began at HCL Limited in 1985, laying the groundwork for a career defined by innovation and a distinctive approach to management.
Nayar left HCL in 1992 to establish Comnet in 1993, a venture that specialized in remote infrastructure management and grew to become a $1 billion technology management business. His leadership at Comnet introduced policies and practices that would later form the core of HCL Technologies’ “Employees First, Customers Second” philosophy. In 1998, Comnet merged with HCL Technologies, leading to the formation of HCL Comnet, where Nayar served as CEO. By 2005, he considered shifting his focus to social development, a path he would fully embrace later, but was asked by Shiv Nadar, co-founder of HCL Technologies, to continue his leadership within the company.
He was appointed President of HCL Technologies in 2005 and became CEO in 2007. In August 2008, he joined the Board of Directors as a whole-time director. During his tenure as CEO, Nayar is credited with significantly expanding HCL Technologies, increasing its revenue sixfold to $4.7 billion annually and growing its workforce from 30,000 to 90,000 employees. He retired from the HCL board in December 2013 to dedicate himself to philanthropic endeavors, specifically focusing on the Sampark Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife, Anupama Nayar, in 2005. He continues to serve as a senior advisor to HCL Technologies and was appointed to the board of the National Stock Exchange of India in July 2021.
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