R. Chandrasekhar takes over as Nasscom President at a time when the more than $100-billion IT industry is facing growth pangs.
The former top bureaucrat (he was the Telecom Secretary) would have to steer the industry as it faces challenges such as immigration hurdles and global economic downturn.
“I heard of only one name and was excited to hear that name,” Keshav Murugesh, Chairman of Nasscom’s Business Process Management Council 2013-15, told
Murugesh, who is on the apex body’s executive council, was referring to Chandrasekhar, who was short-listed by the selection committee.
“His main responsibility would be take forward the Indian IT industry’s ambitious target of achieving $300 billion in revenues by 2020,” Murugesh, who also the Group Chief Executive Officer outsourcer WNS Global Services, said.
But, according to sources, Chandrasekhar was not the only person. A wide search was conducted to zero in on the right candidate, the Chief Executive Officer with a top IT company and past Nasscom Chairman, said on the condition of anonymity. He, however, declined to provide the names of others who were in the fray.
Impeccable record
“What secured the final nod of the search committee was Chandrasekhar’s industry knowledge and his impeccable track record as a civil servant, both as the IT Secretary (Andhra Pradesh) and later the Telecom Secretary,” he added.
Chandrasekhar will succeed current President Som Mittal, whose term ends in March 2014.
The announcement came after the conclusion of the Executive Council meeting held in Pune today, Nasscom said in a statement.
Chandrasekhar was the Chairman, Telecom Commission and Secretary, Department of Telecommunication till March 2013. During his career with the Government, he held a variety of key assignments many of them relating to the information and communications technology sector, both in the Government of India and Andhra Pradesh Government.
According to an Executive Committee member, Chandrasekhar would be coming in much before Mittal’s term ends. “This is to facilitate a hand holding and smooth transition,” he added.
Nasscom has made an offer to Chandrasekhar, but the final decision would have to be made by the Government, since this would be a private role, Nasscom Vice-President Sangeeta Gupta said, adding that the apex body has sought permission from the Government.
“This is likely to happen as there would be no conflict of interests,” she added.
‘the right choice’
“Chandrasekhar is the right choice, given the backdrop of economic slowdown in the US and visa-related issues in markets such as the US, Canada and Australia. The current environment requires somebody who has a good record of dealing with governments at different levels,” Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman of Zensar Technologies and a former Nasscom Chairman said.
On taking charge, Chandrasekhar would be the fourth President of Nasscom, after late Dewang Mehta (1991-2001), Kiran Karnik (2001-2007) and Som Mittal (2007-2014). All of them had a “phenomenal” track record of taking the industry forward, Natarajan added.