The Hindu Business Line : Headstrong to hire more; hopes for demand pick-up

Mumbai, Feb 14 Recession? Recruit more. This sounds counter-intuitive, but that’s what Headstrong Corporation’s Chairman & CEO, Arjun Malhotra, is doing now.

While he agrees that it is difficult to estimate the level of impact a US slowdown would have on a company such as his, he says it’s a gamble that one has to take.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Malhotra said, “If my client reduces his workforce by 10 per cent (hypothetically), all his IT vendors would see an impact. Once the dust settles down and things are normal again, there would be a clamour to restore budgets, demand for more work to be done and that’s when offshore momentum would increase.”

His point is, when that frenzy, to become productive, begins, he would be ready with extra people offshore. He elucidates this by saying, “I currently added 250 people to my strength of 1,500 people in India.” His India manager is not happy, but “I am telling him not to think of his bonus being decided by current manpower efficicency,” says Mr Malhotra, only half in jest.

And he is confident that he could hold that level of additional manpower for even six months, if the resurgence of the US economy does not happen in 3 months, as he expects it to.

As reported earlier in the media, Headstrong is also looking to acquire companies. “The board has okayed our proposal to reach a revenue size of about $ 500 million by 2010, from $ 200 million now, through organic growth as well as through acquisitions. We are looking to acquire companies in the areas of quality assurance, KPO, remote infrastructure management, production support and maintenance. We do a lot of consulting and some development work but leave so much more on the table in the areas I mentioned.”

Asked if it isn’t easy to spot companies offering such commonly available services, he said, “It is. But several companies we looked at do not have any presence in the financial services space. We need them to have some presence there.” Also, any acquisition takes time, he said, “whether you are acquiring a company with $ 25 million or $ 5 million in revenues.”

The company recently bagged an order from the Bombay Stock Exchange for a $ 5 million, three-year deal.

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