New Infosys BPO Head Takes Over from Retiring Swaminanth

BY STAFF REPORT

Indian outsourcing giant Infosys Technologies has appointed Gautam Thakkar, one of its most senior officials, as CEO and managing director of its BPO unit.

Thakkar, who is currently the vice president and head of enterprise services at Infosys, will take over the job from Swami Swaminanth who is retiring in April this year. Swami was one of the best known executives from Infosys in Latin America, where he was a speaker at several industry conferences in the last few years.  Thakkar joined Infosys  before the technology giant launched its BPO unit in 2002. He has previously worked with Accenture.

In an another announcement, the country’s second largest software exporter has stated that it named Srikantan Moorthy its new global head of human resources.

Infosys has seen reshuffling its management team since early 2011 after KV Kamath took over as its chairman. In the same year, the company promoted chief operating officer (COO) SD Shibulal as its chief executive officer.

Later in the year, V. Balakrishnan stepped down as chief financial officer to take charge of the company’s India business.

Analysts say Infosys is struggling to make profits as the company is trying to reinvent itself as a technology consultant rather than a software maker.

The BPO division has grown considerably under Swaminathan. The company acquired several smaller competitors – including Australia-based Portland Group and US-based Marsh BPO – around the world and expanded operation into several countries in Latin America.

Today, the company’s foreign workforce account for 20 percent of its total employees.

According to India’s Business Standard newspaper, Infosys BPO gets 35 per cent of its revenues from delivery centers in overseas countries.