 "Ashok Vemuri, CEO, Xerox Business Services. Photo: Wikipedia")
Ashok Vemuri, former chief executive officer of iGATE, was on Tuesday appointed as the CEO of Xerox’s BPO arm.
Vemuri will be joining Xerox on July 1 as an executive vice-president. He would then take over the CEO of Xerox Business Services, once the separation procedure of the firm is complete. The company, in January 2016, had announced a split of itself into a document technology firm and a business services entity.
The development comes eight months after the executive put in his papers at iGATE after it was taken over by French IT giant Capgemini. Vemuri’s stint has been across firms in IT and banking sectors. Here's all you need to know about him.
Salary base
According to Xerox’s filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vemuri’s base salary will be paid monthly at an annualized rate of $1 million (Rs 6.71 crore).
He will also be able to participate in annual performance incentive plan at a target level of 150% of annual remuneration.
Betting Big
Xerox is placing its bet on Vemuri, with his track record and corporate transformations, to help in success of its BPO business. It will also look at him to revive its outsourcing business.
"He is an excellent leader with the right combination of operational, financial and client experience to successfully drive our BPO company’s go-forward strategy. I look forward to working with Ashok to successfully launch the new BPO company and build on its position as an industry leader,” said Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, Xerox.
Xerox Business Services, in 2015, generated revenues of $7 billion. The company claims to be focused on growth markets like transportation, healthcare, commercial and government services.
iGATE-Capgemini deal
Vemuri served as the CEO the information technology (IT) firm for nearly 18 months, during which its market capitalization is said to have risen by almost three times. He took over the mantle after former CEO Phaneesh Murthy was fired on charges of sexual harassment.
He also helped in the transaction involving sale of iGATE to Capgemini. The French IT giant acquired the California-based company for a whopping $4 million. He was elevated into the Capgemini Group Board after the deal. However, this stint did not last long as he resigned six months after the deal was announced.
The former Infosys executive had a windfall gain from this transaction as he pocketed $19.7 million by the virtue of his remaining shareholding in the company, according to a report in The Economic Times.
Stint at Infosys
Vemuri spent 14 years at Infosys, before joining iGATE. He was seen as a potential CEO candidate at the IT giant in 2013 after the term of SD Shibulal was supposed to end. He was the Chairman of Infosys China, served on the board of Infosys Public Services and was responsible for business operations in the Americas, the firm’s largest geography in terms of clients and revenues.
When he quit Infosys, Narayana Murthy had said that he was not consulted on the issue of resignation. “I was close to him since he was one of my mentees. He consulted me often on many matters and we were also good family friends. I must admit he did not consult me on this decision to move on. I understand his predicament,” he had said.
…He (Vemuri) said, the probability of his becoming the CEO at Infosys was at best 33 percent and at least 18 to 20 months away. Therefore, he felt that he must move on. I agreed with him and wished him the best since he has been a wonderful Infoscion,” Murthy added.
