Just before the annual general meeting (AGM) of India’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the board of directors of the company named N Chandrasekharan as the Chief Executive Officer-designate. This is being done with the intention that he would be appointed CEO and Managing Director with effect from October 6, on the retirement of S Ramadorai.
The company’s AGM will be held towards the end of June. The board has also re-appointed Ramadorai as CEO and MD of the $6 billion IT firm for the period August 9 to October 5, subject to approval of shareholders. He was appointed for a five-year term on August 9, 2004.
Chandrasekharan currently is chief operating officer and executive director at TCS.
The announcement, while on expected lines, has Chandra (as he is fondly called) taking the helm of the company at a time when the IT industry in general and the company, in particular, is facing challenges.
Apart from the impact of the current global slowdown, currency fluctuations and an enormous employee strength, the company has been constantly compared to its nearest competitor, Bangalore-based Infosys. This despite the fact that the company’s revenue of $6 bn as of March 31 is ahead of the $4.6 bn revenue of Infosys.
Analysts feel Bangalore-based Infosys has been doing better in terms of margins and revenue growth when compared with TCS. For instance, an analyst pointed out, the margin difference between TCS and Infosys is about 7 per cent. “If you look at the revenue growth in dollar terms for FY09 for TCS, it was around 5 per cent. Whereas that for Infosys was around 11.8 per cent,” he said.
Chandra is not new to these challenges. Responsible for the formulation and implementation of the company’s global strategy, Chandra has been at the helm of several key strategic transitions in TCS, including expanding its business portfolio to include BPO, infrastructure and consulting services. Under his leadership, TCS pioneered the creation of its unique Global Network Delivery Model and ventured into new markets, including Europe, China and Latin America.
Having been named as one of the top 25 most influential consultants in the world by a US magazine in 2006, Chandra has been with TCS for over 20 years. He joined it on January 27, 1987. And was appointed COO on September 6, 2007.