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For Sethuraman Mahalingam, taking Tata Consultancy Services public was the biggest challenge in his career spanning more than four decades.
Mahalingam, or ‘Maha’, as he is fondly called, is retiring as the Chief Financial Officer of the country’s largest software exporter on February 9.
“Taking it to the listing itself was a big thing … We had to create (an entity) from a complex structure, but it was an interesting one. Some part of the work was done by Tata Sons,” Mahalingam, who was instrumental in launching the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2004, said in an interaction with Business Line .
“Once you are listed, then you are on a treadmill ... Life has become more complex because of the regulation, and especially because you are a listed entity, you are regulated more. Then you get involved in ensuring that the business delivers, and get to work along with stakeholders and shareholders, and deliver competitive performance,” he added.
Mahalingam, 65, joined TCS in 1968, the year the company began its operations. During his career, he worked across various departments at TCS, ranging from sales to business and operations to finance.
“The second one (challenge) was looking at (the) whole margin issue, from April 2009 to June 2010,” he said. During this period of slowdown, TCS posted better margins than the rest of the industry. Mahalingam will be succeeded by Rajesh Gopinathan, who has been with TCS since 2001. Gopinathan has been appointed as the Deputy CFO.
UPBEAT ABOUT BUSINESS
TCS, a subsidiary of the salt-to-software Tata group, posted a 49.2 per cent surge in its second quarter net profit at Rs 3,434.37 crore, a tad better than street expectations. “Last three months, we haven’t seen any change in pattern. Nothing has changed and that’s why we remain confident for the rest of the year,” Mahalingam said. TCS recorded a forex gain of Rs 92 crore in the quarter against a loss of Rs 93 crore in the last quarter.
“Next quarter, I don’t expect gains of these types. It would be a little less, but it will not be a loss,” he said. On the rupee front, he said the fundamentals were weak, adding that he neither saw foreign direct investments nor foreign institutional investors coming into the market. “I am not able to see anything that will appreciate the rupee,” he added.
LOT MORE TO DO
However, Mahalingam is not quite satisfied at this moment when he has decided to hang up his boots. “You know, you are never satisfied, because you will always think that you could have done more. There is a lot of unfinished work ...”
TCS has a number of billion-dollar business units. Integration of these business units, especially when a new company is acquired, is among the many unfinished businesses. On retirement plans, Mahalingam is playing his cards close to his chest. “All one can say is that one can’t get into total retirement.”
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