Exl Service reshuffles top management

Exl Service Holdings, a New Delhi-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company, plans to venture into new cities and grow the new domains started last year even as it has reshuffled the top management in a bid to make its internally-developed succession plans effective from May 1, 2008.

REJIGGING

Vikram Talwar "" previously Vice Chairman and CEO "" will don the role of executive chairman

Rohit Kapoor was appointed as CEO and president

The firm is also creating a new position of lead director of the board. Steven B Gruber is expected to assume this position

Vikram Talwar "" previously vice-chairman and CEO "" will don the role of executive chairman, focusing on long-term strategy and vision for the firm.  He will provide strategic advice and counsel to the CEO. Rohit Kapoor was appointed as CEO and president.  Talwar said, "I am delighted to take on the new role of executive chairman to increase the focus on driving Exl's growth strategy and this is only a natural transition; I don't see a change in our growth strategy following this."  It is also creating a new position of lead director of the board. Steven B Gruber, previously chairman of the board, is expected to assume this position from May 1.  Pavan Bagai, who joined Exl in 2002, has been appointed as chief operating officer.  Rembert de Villa was appointed as head of transformation and will lead pesearch and analytics, Risk Advisory Services and Value-Added Services (VAS).  As for the expansion plans, Talwar said, "Exl has been growing at the rate of 30-35 per cent organically and we plan to venture into new cities, which have the necessary infrastructure, specially physical infrastructure."  The company recently started a new delivery center in Manila, the Philippines for a major US insurance client signed up for the Philippines.  This would serve as its first outsourcing service delivery location outside India and is an important first step in Exl's strategy "of providing seamless global delivery from countries around the world".  Incidentally, the Nasdaq-listed company has only acquired a KPO company, Inductis, unlike its competitors, WNS Global Services and Firstsource Solutions which have grown inorganically. However, the company "" which is sitting on $102 million (around Rs 400 crore) "" is reportedly looking for a similar-sized buy.