Cognizant expands NZ presence

Cognizant has announced the appointment of Simone Moors as Country Managing Director, New Zealand. Under her leadership, the company plans to triple the current workforce by the end of 2026 and continue its growth trajectory in this market.

According to The Economist, New Zealand’s IT spend is set to grow by 10.1% in 2023, outpacing that of the United States (9.8%), Canada (9.4%), United Kingdom (8.5%) and Australia (8.5%). This growth is part of the driving force behind Cognizant’s commitment to the market.

Cognizant first invested in New Zealand in January 2021 with the acquisition of Servian, an enterprise transformation consultancy specialising in data analytics, artificial intelligence, digital services, experience design and cloud. The company’s workforce was integrated into Cognizant, bringing together global capabilities and industry experience.

“New Zealand is a market ripe for growth, especially as a region with strong cloud infrastructure and IT adoption. I’m excited to kickstart my journey with Cognizant, helping to realise the company’s global vision of ‘Intuition Engineered’ for our market,” Moors said.

“New Zealand businesses are innovative and looking at how they transform into future-ready, modern businesses. I look forward to combining our advanced global capabilities and reach with our existing and local expertise to enable their transformation journey.”

Moore’s new role follows an impressive 25+ years both locally and globally in the technology and financial services industries, including leadership positions at Vodafone, NTT, AMP and CoreLogic.

“I am thrilled that Simone is joining the team and confident that the investment Cognizant made in Servian will continue to flourish under her guidance. Simone will lead the New Zealand business to new heights by introducing everything that Cognizant has to offer and driving investment in the local community and workforce,” said Jane Livesey APAC CEO.

Image credit: iStock.com/erllre