OSLO, Norway – Cognite, a global leader in industrial software, today announced that Girish Rishi, a global enterprise software and technology leader, has been appointed CEO, effective April 4, 2022. Cognite co-founder and outgoing CEO, Dr. John Markus Lervik, will continue to be actively involved in the company as Chief Strategy & Development Officer.
“John Markus has built Cognite into Norway’s first unicorn and established a leading position in the transforming industrial software market,” said Øyvind Eriksen, chair of the Cognite Board of Directors. “Today we are excited to have Girish Rishi join the company, who brings with him proven software and technology experience. Girish is a world-class talent and will partner with John Markus and the Cognite team to scale the company globally.”
“As the energy and industrial sectors pivot to macro realities, Cognite’s sof
tware platform will enable companies to deliver on sustainability goals and leverage operational efficiencies,” said Girish Rishi, incoming CEO. “I look forward to partnering with John Markus, who has an impressive track record of building transformative software companies, as we serve our growing customer and partner base.”
“At Cognite, we started out with a vision of an industrial world powered by data, reinventing the way asset-intensive domains are run. Today we have customers across the world, as well as application partners and integrators leveraging our software, Cognite Data Fusion,” said Cognite co-founder and Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Dr. John Markus Lervik. “I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve all achieved so far, and I’m even more excited as we envision the future, now in close partnership with Girish.”
Both Lervik and Rishi see this leadership addition as an opportunity to further strengthen Cognite’s growth journey and its software products to build autonomous, high-tech, data-driven industries. With Rishi as CEO, Lervik will focus on high-impact business opportunities for Cognite. He will also take a leading position within other software investments in Aker ASA, Cognite’s majority shareholder, which will build out an industrial software ecosystem around Cognite.
Girish Rishi joins Cognite after serving as CEO of Blue Yonder (formerly known as JDA Software), a US-based global software company that provides supply chain management solutions.
Prior to his CEO position at Blue Yonder, Rishi held executive leadership positions in general management, product development, and go-to-market for Tyco, Motorola, and Symbol Technologies.
The appointment of Rishi follows an extensive search, led by Lervik and Cognite’s Board of Directors, to add new leadership that will further accelerate Cognite’s growth and solidify the company’s position as a leader in the industrial software market.
