BS People: Sanjay Viswanathan

Sonata gets outsourcing head

Bangalore-based IT services firm Sonata Software is also joining the bandwagon of leadership transitions in the IT world. Much like Wipro and Infosys, this mid-tier company recently announced its plans for a transition as well. As part of the new plan, the firm announced that Sanjay Viswanathan, former Reed Elsevier chief outsourcing and offshoring officer will join Sonata as its new chief executive officer, Managing Director and Member of the Board. Viswanathan, who has also served as vice-president of Genpact, brings in expertise in the IT / BPO business. B Ramaswamy who was the vice-chairman and managing director and who served the company for 24 years was announced as the chief mentor.

Sonata, promoted by the Raheja family and Bhupati Investments, is facing tough times as its bottomline has suffered. During the past few quarters the performance of the joint venture TUI Infotech and the domestic products and platforms business has experienced losses. As the companies are becoming more customer-focused as well as vertical-focused, the first priority of Viswanathan as the new CEO would be creating a niche for verticals which can generate more revenues.

The company presently has only one specialisation, which is in the travel, transportation and logistics (TTL) business. Sanjay, an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and Strathclyde University, has also worked for Infosys (Head – Global Strategic Relationships and Public Sector), and 3M (Brand Manager, S & M Manager). An avid reader, he loves both watching and playing cricket.