Patni steps up board count

Patni Computer Systems has expanded its board from four members to nine by adding five independent directors. This will mean that more than 50 per cent of Patni board will comprise independent directors.

The new appointees are Anupam Puri, Arun Duggal, Susan Esserman, Ramesh Ventakeshwaran and Pradip Shah. The five new directors join the existing board members""Narendra Patni, Gajendra Patni, Ashok Patni and William O Grabe.O Grabe, a managing member of General Atlantic Partners joined the board after General Atlantic invested in Patni in 2002.

N K Patni, chairman and CEO, said, "The new directors bring a wealth of experience and diversity so important for growing the global business of Patni. They will play a critical role in developing and guiding our future global business and our goals to achieve stringent corporate governance standards."

Patni filed a draft Red Herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering last month.

This will be the first public issue by an infotech company in 18 months, the last one coming from i-flex solutions in June 2002.