Coforge’s sudden chairman exit has raised questions over whether a dispute over the company’s board evaluation process was the immediate trigger for O.P. Bhatt’s resignation, or whether it was a manifestation of deeper differences between the former chairman, management and shareholders, including Advent International.
Industry experts have pointed to wider disagreements around Bhatt’s exit, including between the chairman, management and shareholders.
“Looks like disagreements on matters of strategy and policies between the Chairman and the largest shareholder Advent seems to have led to this resignation,” said Shriram Subramanian, Founder & MD, InGovern Research Services, told Moneycontrol.
A key event preceding Bhatt’s exit was the August 24 annual general meeting, where shareholders voted on his reappointment as a director with effect from May 2027. Advent, Coforge’s largest shareholder, voted against the proposal, according to Subramanian.
Bhatt, who served as Coforge’s non-executive independent chairman, resigned with immediate effect on September 8, 2026. However, the company’s disclosure said the resignation followed concerns raised by an internal audit into the way the Board Evaluation Exercise and the resulting Board Evaluation Report (BER) had been handled.