Not losing momentum

ICE PEOPLE

Pankag Agarwal

When Momentum Technologies conceived its CEO, Pankag Agarwal knew he could rely on his bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from IIT, Roorkee, topped by an MBA from IIM, Bangalore, to bail him out if things went haywire in business.

He admits frankly, "I knew I could go back to doing a job, if my business went bust." But that situation never came up. Today, Agarwal sits pretty while he chats about the quick acquisitions and his vision for Momentum Technologies.

Acquisitions have happened in succession for Momentum Technologies. In March 2005 Newell and Budge, a UK-based group took over the company's reins and within four months it was passed on to Sopra's hands. "The primary reason why we sold the company in the first place was to grow our size, which is very important in IT industry," he reasons.

So, how did the Sopra group "� a leading European systems integration and consultancy major "� decide to acquire Momentum Technologies? Taking a moment before he answers, Agarwal says, "Sopra was very strong in the French markets but it wanted to spread itself in the UK too. Newell and Budge seemed to fit the bill and Momentum Technologies became a part of Sopra group." The 150-odd employees at its Noida centre, as Agarwal insists, need not be worried by the sudden spate of acquisitions.

"In fact, their role becomes integral as Momentum's knowledge capital base." Agarwal intends to scale the employee count to 1,000 and expand the product portfolio to include product engineering and offshoring expertise.

"Sopra's emphasis will now be to build a strong offshore base in Europe by capitalising on its offshore development centre in India," he reckons.

So, what are his visions for Momentum? "The Indian centre will see a round of fresh recruitments and there will be a lot of information exchange from its parent company, Sopra."