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Bringing an end to all speculations, iGate, the Nasdaq-listed midsize IT services company on Thursday said that it has appointed Ashok Vemuri, the former board member and Head of Americas, and Manufacturing and Engineering verticals at Infosys, as its next CEO & President.
In a statement, iGate said Vemuri’s appointment will be effective from September 16, 2013. Vemuri will also join iGate’s Board of Directors. Gerhard Watzinger, who has served as the company's interim president and CEO following the dismissal of the then CEO Phaneesh Murthy in May this year, will remain with iGate in an advisory role temporarily to assist in the transition, the company added.
“After an extensive search process, we are delighted that Ashok will be joining iGate as President and CEO,” said Sunil Wadhwani, co-founder and co-chairman of the board of iGate. “Ashok brings a tremendous track record of success and accomplishments working across a range of businesses at Infosys, where he was directly responsible for driving growth for numerous multi-billion dollar businesses. He is a talented and established leader, and the Board has great confidence in his ability to drive iGATE to continued growth into the future,” he added.
Some of the other names that were floating in the market for the top post at iGate included Jeya Kumar, the former CEO of erstwhile Patni Computer System (PCS) and Girish Paranjpe, the former Jt. CEO of Wipro’s IT business for this position.
However, Vemuri came up trumps given his wide experience in the key banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) space at Infosys which he had grown for almost nine years when he was handling this service line. iGate derives more than 50% of its revenues BFSI and healthcare segments. Besides, Vemuri had also been heading North Americas, the key market for most of the offshore-centric IT services companies which helped his selection to the top post.
“Compared with the other names that were floating for the role, Ashok (Vemuri) is more active with the job. Also, he has age in his favour. Ashok has strong background and relations in the financial services sector, which is a very important vertical for iGate,” said Sudin Apte, CEO & Research Director at advisory firm Offshore Insights.
According to Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO and chairman of executive search firm, Headhunters India, iGate primarily wanted an aggressive person like Phaneesh Murthy with extremely good contacts with clients. Besides, iGate wanted this position to be based out of the US, closer to the customers. “All these factors must have gone in favour of Ashok Vemuri who is aggressive as well as target-oriented,” he added.
California-based iGate has been going through a rough patch in recent times. Apart from the exit of its high profile CEO Phaneesh Murthy in the alleged sexual harassment case, the company also at the risk of losing its biggest customer, Royal Bank of Canada amid allegations that it was replacing local staff with foreign workers. With Vemuri at the helm, the company will be able to address some of these concerns by opening newer accounts in the BFSI space, according to industry experts.
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