TechM ex-CEO may announce next move in 10 days

Sanjay Kalra, the man who until last week was at the helm of affairs at one of the country’s biggest information technology service companies, Tech Mahindra, said he was “unemployed now”.

However, “my card (business card) will change from September 15,” the former chief executive officer said, indicating he might be joining a new company from that date.

Kalra’s presence here today was the first time he attended a function after his much-talked resignation. He was in town to deliver the keynote address at the STeP-IN (Software-related Testing Practitioners in India) Forum’s conference, a 'only-for-the-industry' meet which Business Standard managed to gain access to.

He was jovial and showed his witty side as he interacted with the 450-odd professionals, both onstage and off.

Kalra joined TechM over six years before, spearheading the relationship with BT (former British Telecom), one of the largest clients and also a stakeholder in the company. His resignation comes when Mahindra Satyam (the new brand identity of Satyam Computer Services), acquired by TechM, is close to announcing its financial numbers by the end of September. TechM is likely to merge Mahindra Satyam with itself before the end of financial year 2010-11.

On his next move, Kalra responded to the question as though it were an answer. “Where is your house? Mine is in Bangalore and I will stay in Bangalore!”

He refused to say anything about the likely impact on the BT business after his resignation.