• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books
• Gallery

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

M. Somasekhar

Hyderabad, June 4 After the Rs 7,136-crore financial fraud, it’s now the erosion of key competencies at Satyam Computer Services. In addition to important professionals quitting, a showpiece facility in Chennai, called the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), is facing trouble.

The three top strengths of Satyam, which brought big business to the company — SAP, Engineering Services, and Manufacturing and Automotive Practices — have been impacted by the recent top-level exits.

At the company’s SAP unit, the number-two executive Mr Ramesh Babu has left along with several senior executives. In Engineering Services, the head Mr T.S.K. Murthy has put in his papers. In Manufacturing and Automotive Practices, Mr Subu Subramanian, the erstwhile head, was one of the first high-profile exits. More recently, the Chennai centre has seen the exit of Mr Asit Barma, Senior Vice-President and Vice-Chairman, Society of Automotive Engineers, South India

According to sources in the know, the major worry for Satyam, which was till recently India’s fourth-largest IT company, is the gradual loss of professionals with core competencies. There has been a steady exit of professionals, even after the majority stake buyout by Tech Mahindra on April 13, 2009.

A typical example they cite is the recent exit of Mr Gajbir Singh, an aerospace expert with industry background and of Senior Vice-President rank. Satyam had started the aerospace division keeping in mind the huge opportunities presented by the Union Defence Ministry’s ‘Offset Policy’, which stipulated that at least 30 per cent of defence contracts should be outsourced to Indian companies.

Similarly, Satyam made a significant mark with its Integrated Engineering Services headed by company veteran Mr Murthy. His exit dealt a big blow to the Hyderabad-based division, which was the fastest growing vertical in Satyam; many experts are also on the way out, sources told Business Line.

In overseas operations too, Satyam has seen the resignation of top executives — Mr Deepak Nangia, who was heading the Australia operations, and Mr Virendra Agarwal, in the Asia-Pacific region. Both have reportedly headed to HCL computers.

Launched with much hope by Dr R. Chidambaram, noted nuclear scientist and Principal Scientific Adviser to the Central Government, ACE, which even opened a facility in Detroit, is tottering.

According to sources, while most key people have already left the Detroit facility, important ‘Solution architects’ have quit in Chennai too.

The Centre was created with an investment of over Rs 10 crores and aimed to do path-breaking work in the automotive sector; it has noted aerospace experts like Mr Kota Harinarayana on its advisory board.

The first full-fledged board meeting of Satyam Computer, with Tech Mahindra representatives, is expected to be held on June 11 in Hyderabad.

Key issues surrounding human resources, cost-cutting measures and clients would be discussed.

More Stories on : Human Resources | Software | Satyam Computer Services Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line