Director
Age
Birthplace
Committees
Since 2020
United States
- Audit (member)
- Compensation (member)
Archana (Archie) Deskus brings extensive experience to Cognizant’s Board of Directors from her years setting and leading technology strategy as either CTO or CIO for several large global corporations, including PayPal, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Baker Hughes, Ingersoll Rand, Timex and United Technologies.
Key skills and qualifications:
- International business development
- Operations management
- Public company governance
- Regulated industries
- Security
- Technology and consulting services
Relevant experience:
Archie was elected to Cognizant’s Board in March 2020. She currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PayPal), a digital payments company. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of PayPal from March 2022 to November 2023. Prior to PayPal, she served as CIO for several other global companies in the technology, industrial, energy and consumer products industries. These companies include Intel Corporation, a technology company; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, an information technology company; Baker Hughes Incorporated, an oilfield services company; Ingersoll Rand Inc., an industrial manufacturing company; Timex Group USA, Inc., a watch manufacturing company; and United Technologies Corporation, a multinational conglomerate that provided high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries, as well as various affiliated entities of United Technologies.
Archie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Nasdaq-listed East West Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for East West Bank, the largest independent bank in Southern California. She also serves on the Board of Directors of East West Bank. She formerly served as a customer advisory Board member for IBM Global Technology Services, as a Board member for the non-profit Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas and as an advisory Board member for the Data Science Institute of the University of Houston.
Archie holds a Master of Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management information systems from Boston University.