Mindtree to rejig top leadership, set up 2 new units

Rejig to effect 20% of the top 120 executives

Mid-sized information technology firm Mindtree has initiated a top-level rejig, which will lead to a change in the profiles of at least 20% of its top 120 executives. These changes, many of which the company has already announced internally, will be effective April 1, 2015.

“For the last four years we have been working with external agencies to assess each individual, their capabilities and where they can go. So this change has happened based on a lot of inputs and development that people have had. It’s right for us to take a leap of faith and give them a larger role in the organisation,” Mindtree Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Krishnakumar Natarajan told Business Standard.

One of the most significant changes under this rejig was announced by Mindtree earlier this month, when the Bengaluru-based company said its Chief Financial Officer Rostow Ravanan would move on to head service lines, key accounts group and Europe from the beginning of next financial year. Ravanan, who was the head of banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical at Mindtree before he became the finance head over 10 years ago, has been leading engagements with some key accounts over the last few months as preparation for his new role.

As part of the rejig, Mindtree's Chief Operating Officer Parthasarathy N S will be heading the company's people's operations starting April 1, 2015. In September last year, Ravishankar B, who was the human resources head of Mindtree, had quit.

Also, Chief Delivery Officer Veeraraghavan R K will head Mindtree's hi-tech vertical.

Additionally, Mindtree has set up two new units—Digital Group and Intellectual Property (IP) Group, in view of the huge demand for new technologies.

“We find that the average deal size in digital space has improved by about 15% in the last 12 months. I think clients are now moving away from experimentation with digital technologies to a little more concrete initiatives,” Natarajan said. “Estimates show that by 2020, the market opportunity for digital technologies will touch $50 billion. Also, some experts have said that as much as 90% of incremental spending by clients is going to be in this space. So we want to be prepared to benefit from this growth.”

Executive Vice President Radha R, who currently heads retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing and travel & transportation verticals, will move on to head the Digital Group, which includes nearly 33% of Mindtree's business as of now.

The IP Group will be headed by Gaurav Johri, who currently heads the BFSI vertical.

While most of the changes under the rejig will include Mindtree's existing top executives, the company will also bring on board a few new senior executives from outside. According to sources at Mindtree, the company is in the process of hiring someone to replace Radha R in her current role.