It is dream come true for the 46 year old B Ramalinga Raju, chairman, Satyam Computer services, when he rang the 'virtual' opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 15.
At a time when his critiques were terming his efforts to raise capital overseas as a failure, he proved them wrong by mopping up 20 per cent more moolah than originaly envisaged on the last day
prior to listing.
"It is a remarkable event in the company's history and this will give the right visibility to the company in the US market, which contributes majority of our business," a visibily elated Ramalinga Raju told media persons immediately after the listing.
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Yes, he has every reason to be cheerful. A seven times oversubscription for an ADS offering by a Indian company in a prolonged bear market would lift any body's spirits. Satyam has also got the distinction by becoming the first Indian group to list two companies in its fold on foreign bourses, with Satyam Infoway getting listed on the Nasdaq in 1999 and now the flagship Satyam listed on the NYSE.
A true blue Hyderabadi, Ramalinga Raju is a pioneer of IT industry for the city. His penchant for spicy Indian cuisine and love for the Billiards game are well known among his kith and kin.
An MBA from Ohio University and an alumnus of Harward university where he attended an owner/president course, he has worked extensively on the concept of Numeric Management, which forms the platform for a Business Performance Measurement software product to be launched by Satyam.
Raju in his early stages of career did not pocess any penchant for IT. On his return to India after his Masters', Raju started ventures in manufacturing and construction. His father's riches and brother Rama Raju's support became handy for Raju to look at major ventures right from the beginning. The stepping stone to his career was a real estate company founded by his father, Satyanarayana Raju. In 1981, he incorporated Sree Satyam Spinning and Weaving Mills to manufacture cotton yarn.
Five years later he chose another line of business, Satyam Constructions, which undertook some of the major projects like Sardar Sarovar Narmada in Gujarat.
The bricks and mortar man took no time in diversifying from his family's construction business, to put his sights on the then emerging IT industry.
He has set up Satyam Computer Services in 1987 which became one of the early entrants into the capital markets when it made an IPO in May '92.
When there was a general belief that software company chieftains need to be engineers because of their knowledge of technology and quantitative thinking, Raju proved that knowing business is enough to make good in software business. He implemented a unique management structure in Satyam.
The "91Concept of Circles=92", as it is called, does away with conventional pyramidal hierarchy and empowers individuals to act as chief executives of an organization. The company set up various Strategic Business Units (SBU) - Satyam Renaissance Consulting for business process reengineering, Satyam Enterprise Solutions for systems integration, Satyam Infoway for the Internet business and Spark Solutions for product development. This has enabled the company to react quickly and effectively to changing market and technological scenarios.
Ramalinga Raju surprised many when he took Satyam Infoway (Sify) onto the Nasdaq in 1999 without listing it on the Indian bourses. Probably he chose this way to avoid the three year profit track record stipulated by Sebi as an eligibility criteria to tap the IPO market.
He also manged to pull off another coup in 1999 when he acquired Indiaworld for a whopping Rs 499 crore! Not with standing the criticism that it was a hefty price Raju paid for a content portal with public financing, the move has stoked the valuation fires in India, encouraging young entrepreneurs to start thinking "dot com".
Raju became the only Hyderabadi and one among the eleven Indians to make it to the world's richest list announced by the Forbes magazine.
With about $1.3 billion assets to his credit, he was described as a "US-educated computer tycoon heading the fifth largest IT outfit in India". He also received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award in 1999 for software services.
Quite accessible to the media in his early days and not much accessible these days, Raju is a soft spoken and is passionate about reading, maintaining an extensive library at home. His reading interests include philosophy, sciences and management. Raju and his wife Nandini have two sons, Teja and Ramu, who are studying engineering in US.