Xerox names Vemuri as CEO of BPO unit

Vemuri, a former top executive at Infosys and Igate, to become first CEO of Xerox Business Services

Xerox on Tuesday named former iGATE chief executive officer (CEO) Ashok Vemuri as the CEO of its planned business process outsourcing (BPO) company.

In January, Xerox had announced a plan to split into two independent publicly traded companies — a document technology company and a BPO services company.

The separation, slated to be completed by December 2016, would create a document technology company with $11-billion revenue and 40,000 headcount. At the same time, Xerox Business Services will become a $7 billion-revenue entity.

On July 1, Vemuri, 48, would join Xerox Corporation as executive vice-president, until the separation is complete, and as the CEO of Xerox Business Services.

“Ashok’s deep industry experience and proven track record of leading growth and corporate transformations will be instrumental for the BPO company’s future success,” said Xerox chairman and CEO Ursula Burns in a statement. “He is an excellent leader with the right combination of operational, financial and client experience to successfully drive our BPO company’s go-forward strategy. I look forward to working with Ashok to successfully launch the new BPO company and build on its position as an industry leader,” Burns added.

Vemuri, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, was previously the CEO and president of iGATE, a then Nasdaq-listed IT services company which got acquired by Capgemini last year for around $4 billion. He had taken over the role at a difficult time soon after iGATE’s then CEO Phaneesh Murthy had quit unceremoniously after a scandal. During his 18-month stint at iGATE, Vemuri improved the company’s market capitalisation by almost three times, making it an attractive target for acquisition.

Prior to iGATE, Vemuri was a senior executive at Infosys, where he served as a Board member, head of Americas geography and manufacturing and engineering services business lines. Before he left Infosys in August 2013, after spending almost 14 years at the company, he was considered as one of the contenders for the role of CEO.

“I’m excited to join Xerox at this stage of its new path forward,” said Vemuri. “Xerox’s BPO business is already in several attractive markets and has an impressive client list that includes top global brands and vital government agencies. The standalone BPO company will have many new opportunities, leveraging its differentiated capabilities and executing a more focused value-creation strategy for the benefit of clients, employees and shareholders,” he added.

With this, Vemuri joins the league of few other India-born executives who are leading global firms. Prominent among them are Satya Nadella, who is heading Microsoft as its CEO, and Sundar Pichai, who in August last year was elevated as the CEO of Internet giant Google.