• He was born in Thrissur in Kerala but was raised in Lucknow as his father was working there in the Railways. He did his schooling from Lucknow and then joined REC (now NIT) Trichy. This is the same institution where N. Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons chairman-designate studied. This institution now has the distinction of giving TCS two CEOs back-to-back.
  • He studied at IIM Ahmedabad and joined Tata Strategic Management Group. Three years later, he moved Tata Industries, working there for two years before joining TCS in 2001.
  • He stays in Powai with his wife Lekshmi, an architect (and who is about to finish her Phd from IIT Bombay), They have a five-year old son and 12-year old daughter Malini.
  • People close to Mr Gopinathan said that he loved spending time with his children whenever possible. “In the morning, he regularly gives bath to his son and prepares him for school so that he could spend some time with him. Every time he goes out (of the country), he would buy gifts for his daughter,” the person said.
  • He likes to go for long walks. He loves reading and watching movies, the last viewed being 'La La Land'.