Jeya Kumar quits IPsoft, may join scandal-hit iGate

Jeya Kumar, former chief operating officer, Asia Pacific, IPsoft, seems to be emerging as front runner for the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of California-headquartered, iGate.

“Kumar had resigned from his position of CEO at IPsoft in December and his non-compete notice period comes to an end by June 30,” said a source in the know.

Company executives close to the development said, among others, Kumar has been approached by iGate for the role of CEO.

‘No challenge at IPsoft’
“The reason for his resignation is the non-challenging role at IPsoft. He was doing the same stuff  he perhaps did 10-15 years back. Especially after his stint at Patni, this role seemed mundane. iGate would be certainly much more challenging,” said a senior executive from the industry, who has worked with him at Patni in the past.

Attempts to get in touch with Kumar failed. An email to IPsoft did not elicit any response.

A look at the company’s website confirmed the news, since Kumar’s curriculum vitae from the executive profile had been removed.

Kumar seems to be the right candidate for iGate, having steered Patni Computer Systems towards a growth path and then an eventual sale to private equity player Advent and iGate for $1.2 billion.

“If you look at iGate, the growth is being driven from erstwhile Patni operations. Kumar knows this business pretty well,” said a source.

Moreover, Kumar has often been dubbed a ‘turnaround man’. It has been well documented how Kumar was roped in Patni to bridge the revenue gap between the company and its peers, as well as to try and extract a better valuation for the company for a possible sale.

But unlike at Patni, where Kumar’s mandate was to focus on operational parameters, iGate has additional challenges.

To begin with, it has been slapped with a class action suit alleging violation of federal securities laws with regard to its sacked chief executive officer Phaneesh Murthy’s ‘improper relationship’ with a subordinate employee. Moreover, iGate is already facing an investigation by another law firm, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, to check whether the company and its employees violated federal securities laws.

Would bring others too
Industry sources added if Kumar gets back to iGate, chances are he might bring in some of his old colleagues,  too. “This is a challenging role, and if he approaches any of the other senior executives, I think they will be more than willing to join him,” said a senior executive who had worked with Kumar at Patni.