Good morning. Kyndryl’s story is one of steady execution, cultural reinvention, and a return to growth.
When Kyndryl was spun off by IBM in late 2021, the company had to establish itself as a dominant provider of IT infrastructure services amid naysayers and doubters. Its biggest challenge: transforming a legacy operation with declining revenues and low margins into a profitable, nimble, and growing global leader. But this wasn’t Kyndryl CFO David Wyshner’s first time at bat.
In the past 20 years, Kyndryl’s spinoff from IBM is the sixth one he’s been involved in, including leading Wyndham Worldwide’s separation into a privately acquired business and two public companies as CFO. Over the years, I’ve spoken with Wyshner about Kyndryl’s progress, such as landing on the Fortune 500 for the first time in 2023. We recently talked about the company’s consistent growth.
Growth amid economic headwinds
Kyndryl, led by CEO Martin Schroeter, operates essential IT systems for financial institutions, airlines, retailers, and industrial companies. Even amid macroeconomic uncertainty, demand for these services remains strong, Wyshner said. He affirms that Kyndryl’s focus on modernization, cloud transformation, cybersecurity, and AI-enabled operations has insulated its growth from broader economic headwinds. “What we do is mission critical,” Wyshner told me. “Our services are not discretionary—they’re essential for our customers’ operations, especially in times of uncertainty.”
For its fiscal year that ended March 31, Kyndryl reported record signings of $18.2 billion—a 46% year-over-year increase—and returned to constant-currency revenue growth for the first time since the spinoff. Adjusted EBITDA rose 6% to $2.5 billion, and adjusted pretax income nearly tripled to $482 million. The company also delivered positive net income, a sharp turnaround from losses in prior years. Net income swung from a net loss of $340 million last year to a profit of $252 million.
Kyndryl’s “Three-As” strategy—alliances, advanced delivery, and accounts—is paying off, Wyshner said. For example, revenue from alliances with cloud hyperscalers like Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud reached $1.2 billion last year. The launch of its AI-powered open integration platform, Kyndryl Bridge, freed up more than 13,000 delivery professionals and generated $775 million in annualized savings, he said. The company also has addressed low-margin contracts inherited from IBM, replacing them with higher-margin, strategic deals. Last year, this effort delivered $900 million in annualized benefits.
But making a spinoff successful is no small feat. Few corporate spinoffs deliver value, according to research. I asked Wyshner if he could point to at least three important elements that can help a spinoff beat the odds.
“Number one is getting the right team and the right culture in place,” he told me. “We’ve really benefited from having a senior team that works well together and is focused on execution.”
Number two is setting the right expectations, both internally and externally. “We were spun out as a turnaround, and our business model operates under long-term contracts—so change takes time,” he said. And the third element comes back to execution: “Making progress on the things that really move the needle,” Wyshner said. When there’s a lot of change going on, it’s easy to get distracted by aspects that may not have a large impact and take attention away from things that really do matter, he said.
When launching, Kyndryl was in the spotlight to deliver a turnaround story. Being just below break-even in its first year meant that “we had a lot of work to do,” Wyshner said.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
David Reeder, CFO of Chewy, Inc. (No. 362), an online retailer of pet food and other pet-related products, announced on May 12 that he will be departing in several months to return to the semiconductor industry as a CEO. Reeder began his tenure as CFO in February 2024. He joined Chewy from GlobalFoundries, Inc., a semiconductor manufacturer, where he has served as CFO since 2020. Reeder will remain as CFO through Chewy’s next earnings announcement in June and assist with a transition as the company conducts a search for his successor.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves
Matt Ellis was appointed CFO of Universal Music Group N.V. (EURONEXT: UMG), a global music-based entertainment provider, effective June 9. Ellis will be based in Santa Monica. Most recently, he served as EVP and CFO at Verizon Communications where he led all finance activities. Before his 10-year tenure at Verizon in several senior finance roles, Ellis held multiple senior finance positions at global food company Tyson Foods Inc., such as VP and treasurer. At Verizon, Ellis succeeds Boyd Muir, who was promoted to the role of chief operating officer of UMG.
Peter C. Fan has been appointed SVP, CFO, and corporate secretary of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: PROV), the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B., effective May 12. Fan most recently served as SVP and director of finance and treasury at Royal Business Bank since February 2024. Before that, he served as SVP of finance at Pacific Western Bank.
Big Deal
A new study by OneStream examines corporate finance as a career path and how AI is shaping the field’s future. Eighty-six percent of all respondents, including current professionals and students, believe they will use AI tools at least somewhat often in their careers, with one-third expecting to rely on AI tools significantly.
The findings are based on a survey of 2,504 respondents, including corporate finance professionals and college students studying finance across the U.S. and the U.K.
“The next generation of finance professionals are entering the field with optimism and a drive for innovation,” Tom Shea, CEO of OneStream, said in a statement.
The research found that 89% of finance students say they have enough experience with AI to use it in their work. That’s in comparison to 54% of finance professionals with more than 10 years of experience, and 63% of younger finance professionals, who say the same.
While today’s graduates have grown up immersed in technology, just 57% of current finance professionals think new hires should be required to have tech skills in addition to core accounting capabilities. Meanwhile, 11% wish they had AI and machine learning skills when starting their own careers, according to the findings.
Going deeper
“Apple adds $180 billion to its market cap as Trump reveals he spoke to CEO Tim Cook after China tariffs rollback” is a new Fortune report by Beatrice Nolan.
From the report: “Apple’s stock jumped 6% on Monday, adding roughly $180 billion to its market cap after the U.S. and China agreed to cut reciprocal tariffs from 125% to 10% for 90 days. President Trump said he spoke with CEO Tim Cook about boosting Apple’s U.S. investments after the news.”
Overheard
“Small Business week may be over but our attention should not diverge from the importance of these growing enterprises. If we want to support the backbone of the economy, we have to stop weighing it down.”
—George Kailas is CEO at Prospero.ai., writes in a new Fortune opinion piece.
