NEW YORK -- MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today that Chirantan “CJ” Desai, the President and Chief Operating Officer of ServiceNow, Inc. (“ServiceNow”), has been appointed to serve as an independent director on MSCI’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective today. Mr. Desai will serve as a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the Board. Following the appointment of Mr. Desai, the Board will be comprised of 13 directors.

“As MSCI actively invests in further accelerating our technology-driven and AI-powered approaches to servicing our clients, CJ will bring extensive expertise in these areas to MSCI’s Board,” said Henry A. Fernandez, MSCI’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “His experience as the President and Chief Operating Officer of one of the world’s leading enterprise software companies, overseeing products, platform, AI, design, engineering, cloud infrastructure and customer success will allow him to offer invaluable insight. CJ joins a strong board with deep expertise across the investment and technology industries, and we look forward to his contributions,” added Mr. Fernandez.

“MSCI is one of the foremost innovators in the investment industry, helping clients address the challenges of a transforming investment landscape. I am excited to join the Board at this critical juncture, as MSCI develops the tools and solutions for the next evolution of global investing, supported by cutting-edge technology,” said Mr. Desai. “I look forward to working closely with the Board and management to continue delivering success for our clients and driving meaningful value for our shareholders.”

Chirantan “CJ” Desai currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer at ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW). He leads enterprise-wide operations to ensure business rigor — from innovation to execution. Prior to joining ServiceNow, Mr. Desai was the president of the Emerging Technologies Division at EMC where he had a full P&L responsibility for emerging technology products with a focus on launching and growing new businesses. From November 2004 to September 2013, Mr. Desai held several senior leadership roles at Symantec Corporation, including executive vice president of Information Management and senior vice president of Endpoint and Mobile Security. Mr. Desai began his career with Oracle Corp and was a key member of the team that launched Oracle’s first cloud service. Mr. Desai has a Master’s degree in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.