TCS promotes talent leader Swarna Selvaraj to head HR for AI division
In a significant leadership move at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Swarna Sudha Selvaraj has been promoted as the new HR Head of the TCS AI and Data unit, marking a strategic shift aligned with the company’s deepening focus on artificial intelligence transformation. Selvaraj announced the development through a LinkedIn post on 1 July 2025, highlighting both personal gratitude and her evolving vision for HR in a tech-centric world.
Selvaraj, who previously served as the Talent Development Head in the AI unit, expressed how her role has now expanded from a domain-specialist position to one that demands broad-based leadership across functions, technologies and geographies. “From the time I joined AI Unit as Talent Development Head, there were two clear messages: we need more creative generalists than specialists, and the line between technical and functional would blur,” she wrote in her update.
The move places her at the forefront of TCS’s HR strategy for its AI and Data business, one of the company’s most future-forward verticals. In her new capacity, Selvaraj will be working closely with a leadership team led by Siva and comprising prominent names such as Ashok, Satish, Spandan, Ashoo, Ravindranath (Ravi), Phani, Jai, Ganapathi Lakshminarayanan (Gana), Muthulakshmi, Laxminarayan Venkataraman (Lax), Hema, Srikumar, Ram, Ramkumar, Ganesh Sreeramulu Ganesh Ram, Chandrima, Bharathan, Sankha and other key figures across the organisation.
The announcement underlines a broader cultural and operational shift within India’s IT bellwether. TCS, like many of its peers, is navigating the demands of enterprise AI integration, which increasingly requires leaders who can bridge technology and human capital development. Selvaraj’s appointment reflects this blended need for domain fluency and people-first management.
Throughout her career, Selvaraj has championed the cause of talent development, often identifying herself as a specialist in that niche. Responding to past queries on why she chose to focus only on talent development, she reflected: “I would respond with the preference of growing up as a specialist.” But with her elevation, she embraces the transition to a techno-functional HR leader, ready to lead TCS’s AI workforce strategy with renewed vision.
“Happy to share this with my LinkedIn network,” she posted, calling the journey one of continuous learning and creative integration. She also acknowledged the role of the TCS HR fraternity, noting their ongoing support and encouragement during her transition. “Grateful to all the support & trust,” she concluded, encapsulating the spirit of cross-functional mentorship and collaborative leadership that TCS seeks to scale.
This promotion comes as TCS accelerates its AI investments globally, with its AI and Data unit playing a key role in building enterprise-ready, ethical, and scalable AI solutions for clients. HR leadership in this context is no longer about traditional people processes alone—it’s about fostering AI-ready talent ecosystems, enabling continuous learning at scale, and ensuring alignment between organisational goals and people outcomes.