New WNS boss head hunting old Syntel colleagues
By Pulkit Sharma

NASSCOM ranks WNS as the No. 2 BPO company in India.  WNS was set up in 1996 and employs 21,000 people in 21 delivery centres in Americas, Europe and Asia looking after 200 global clients. Last year, WNS had net revenue of $386 Million. Techgoss had exclusively reported on how Keshav Murugesh had left Syntel to join WNS.

Keshav Murugesh had dramatically quit his role as President and CEO of BPO Syntel in Feb, 2010 and  joined WNS in the same month.  And it seems that he is already missing his old BPO Syntel which was so angry about Keshav leaving that they did not even give him a proper farewell party.

How much is Keshav missing Syntel?  So much that he is laying the ground work for many of his old colleagues to join him at WNS.

A recruiter at an elite HR firm rang Techgoss to say that WNS has worked out a short list of senior people with about 8 plus years who will be replaced in the next few months.  This recruiter tells Techgoss that the new WNS CEO has made it clear to some senior managers from Business Unit Heads to Marketing Heads that they could do with changes and that they could manage to get better opportunities outside the company.

Many of these senior managers marked to be replaced have impeccable track records developing new business lines and creating, transitioning, managing and delivering profits upon profits for long spells.

When Techgoss rang a key tipster in WNS, he confirmed that Keshav is moving to replace a number of managers. The business development heads, various Executive vice presidents, senior vice presidents are being asked to find better prospects than stay on in WNS. While these senior management employees may have stock options, they definitely do have deep relationships with their juniors, their clients and others within the industry.

It seems like Keshav Murugesh wants to bring in his own team from Syntel to replace these people.  But the fact is that these targeted senior executives at WNS have achieved more than their counterparts at Syntel.

This Techgoss tipster at WNS tells me that many of his senior managers are currently being paid Rs. 30 Lakhs/annum.  HR firms normally charge 1 month’s gross salary to head hunt a replacement.  There is talk that as many as 10-15 senior managers at WNS may be replaced in the next 12 months.  This would entail a recruitment bill running into tens of lakhs.

Our sources at Syntel confirm that a number of managers have their bags packed ready to join their ex boss at WNS.

(Techgoss had run the following article on Feb 5, 2010)

Syntel: Why Keshav Murugesh left to join WNS 
By Annie the Snoop

Over the last six months, Techgoss had published a series of exclusive reports giving details of all that was happening inside BPO Syntel.  One report showed how that in the recent past Syntel was overly reliant on couple of key clients.  Techgoss had also reported on the movements of senior HR people at Syntel.

Soon after these Techgoss reports were published, Syntel started monitoring all emails and communications to outside parties to identify the leaker.

On Feb 3, Techgoss had reported on how the ex-President and CEO, Keshav Murugesh, left Syntel after all his good initiatives to strengthen and expand the company were blocked a number of times. WNS has snapped up Keshav to head their BPO operations. Keshav Murugesh will start work as CEO and Board Member of WNS on Feb 19, 2010. WNS is among the top 3 BPO’s in India.

Now a source within Syntel tells us the story behind the appointment of new Syntel CEO Prashant Ranade who has been on Syntel’s Board of Directors since 2007. Prashant Ranade served as the President and CEO of Siemens Group Logistics from 2003 to 2006 and on the board of Directors at Dematic till 2007. He is also the founder of Indus Ventures, a strategic consulting firm.

According to insiders, clashes between Prashant and Keshav’s led to the latter’s exit. Prashant and Keshav had a lot of disagreements on how Syntel should be run and its growth strategy ever since Prashant came on board. The issues gradually escalated to a point where Keshav put his foot down on certain issues only to find the Chairman Bharat Desai backing Prashant

The juicy part of the story which the analysts will love to chew on is that Bharat and Prashant go back a long way and have been chums since their IIT days.  Did this personal friendship since IIT days play any role in Keshav finally deciding enough is enough? Bharat thinks very highly of IIT with another IIT graduate Paritosh Choksi also on the Syntel Board.

After the showdown with Keshav, Bharat instructed the CEO’s office to immediately send an email to all employees announcing Prashant’s new role. The manner in which Keshav was shown the door after 7 years of his loyal, selfless service with Syntel is another example of how hard the game in played in the Indian corporate world. There was no proper announcement to employees or a traditional farewell which is usually accorded to senior management who quit Syntel. Folks still remember that Syntel threw a huge party at Renaissance hotel in Powai for Nitin Rakesh, ex CEO of Syntel BPO, on his last day to recognize him for his contribution.

Employees at all levels are mystified and largely hurt by these abrupt changes. Will Prashant rise to the occasion and be able to step into the large shoes of his respected predecessor? The market has a close eye on Syntel. State Street has not renewed their Joint Venture yet.

Watch this space for updates from our Spy at Syntel.

(Techgoss had published the following on Feb 3, 2010)

Syntel: Popular President and CEO leaves on bad terms
By Annie the Snoop

Over the last six months, Techgoss had published a series of exclusive reports giving details of all that was happening inside BPO Syntel.  One report showed how that in the recent past Syntel was overly reliant on couple of key clients.  Techgoss had also reported on the movements of senior HR people at Syntel.

Soon after these Techgoss reports were published, Syntel started monitoring all emails and communications to outside parties to identify the leaker.

On Feb 2, 2010, Techgoss had reported on the sudden and bitter exit of President and CEO Keshav Murugesh whom the markets credit with being the key to Syntel’s recent success.  The exit was so bitter and final that Keshav’s highly regarded personal secretary Reena Rodrigues also went with his. Under Keshav’s watch, Syntel made it to Forbes ‘200 Best Small Companies’.

When Keshav left, a Syntel spokesperson told they media that their President and CEO had left for ‘personal reasons to pursue other opportunities’.  The company quickly named Mr. Prashant Ranade as the new President and CEO.

But my source ‘close’ to the Board rang me to say the ground reality was very different. The scene within the corporate corridors of Syntel gets murkier by the minute. Our source reports that the Syntel boardroom day before yesterday resembled a bloodbath akin to a pack of lions fighting for meat. Never before had anyone witnessed the usually calm, collected, capable and classy chairman Bharat Desai loose his cool. He resembled a mounting inferno, red as beet, and angrier than ever banging his fist on the table and more. The topic of course was Keshav's pending exit from the company following months of active discussions and negotiations with the Board of Directors.

Apparently, Keshav who was promoted to President last year was not pleased with Syntel's pace and style of growth. He tried to change the way of internal functions and strategy after taking the topmost role and was working on the assumption that he would be taking the final call in all decisions. He found himself at odds with Bharat and certain members of the Board who opposed his style and blocked it at every step. After almost 2-3 months of hardcore negotiations, umpteen US visits and endless frustration, Keshav threw in the towel. Incidentally, the entire leadership team of State Street is within Syntel at the moment having their joint venture board meeting for the BPO part of the business.

Bharat wanted Keshav to resign after the Board meeting whereas Keshav was adamant on doing it day before yesterday since it would not make sense for him to attend the meeting anymore. Eventually he had his way and Bharat decided to cut this short. What followed was alarming, shocking and utterly ruthless. Keshav was asked to leave immediately and his laptop and other company belongings were taken over by the administration. The entire global staff in Syntel is in a tizzy over the incident.

Rumors are abound that Keshav is joining a wealth management firm while others say he is joining another BPO company with larger revenues than Syntel. We will report the facts in a few days.

Keep watching this space for updates.