GENPACT:  CEO Pramod Bhasin Moustache Giving Secret Signals
By S. Raman

About a month ago, India's leading business newspaper carried a speculative report saying that the country's number one back-office service provider was getting listed. Genpact, the company in question, predictably wouldn't comment. But we suspect the story is correct. No, we have no leaks from any investment banker or investors looking for an exit. But we spotted Pramod Bhasin, CEO of Genpact the other day and he had shaved off his dense moustache. We almost didn't recognize him.

No Indian who's sported a moustache till he reaches 50+ years of age does such a drastic thing without having a very good reason. Mr Azim Premji of Wipro is a famous example -- he shaved off his moustache and refused to let it grow until the company registered revenues of a certain size.

For others, listing on one of the American stock exchanges is an extremely good reason to shed facial hair, our friends in the venture capital world tell us. In California's Silicon Valley, there are consultants who groom CEOs pre-IPO so they present themselves well to the investing public. Apart from telling CEOs to knock off the paunch and cease wearing yellow or pink shirts, consultants prefer to have their CEO wards sport a clean-shaven look.

Someone should do a survey to find out how many CEOs in the US (Indian or otherwise) leave their moustache on ever, versus how many do so in India. The results will be a study in contrast, though the IPO is likely to be oversubscribed many more times in India than it will be in the US!!

(CEO Pramod Bhasin, who is happily single,  has added a debonair touch to the often boring ranks of the senior male BPO executives)