It took a Non-Executive Directors' committee at L&T over a year to finalise the choice of CEO, Mr A. M. Naik, Chairman, said.
The committee, given the mandate for selecting a candidate for the post, also employed the services of 21 national and international head hunters for the job.
The chairman had no role except that of forwarding a couple of candidate profiles which the committee had sought from him, he added.
Summing up the bifurcation of the post of Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Naik jocularly said it was akin to Mr Venkataramanan playing T-20 and 50-over games and he being left to shoulder the burden of test matches. Of course, Mr Venkataramanan would have his counsel if he sought it, he said, adding that he would be working with him till September to hand over operations.
Asked about the challenges ahead, Mr Venkataramanan said, “The appointment has come in at a time when there are opportunities in the long-term and volatility in the short term. L&T is going in a bigger way into internationalization and the Indian scene is not as dynamic. It is going to be a challenging period but we have a capable team.”
Asked whether L&T Infotech was looking to acquire Hexaware Technologies, Mr Naik said, “There is news in the market that they have appointed bankers for a potential sale. We have not appointed any banker. We look at every opportunity as an integration possibility.”
On plans for L&T Infotech, Mr Naik said the aim was to grow it to a $2-billion business. “In the last two years, the IT industry went through some stagnation. We will close this year at around $830 million and cross $1 billion next year.”