ESOP Direct

The dotcom bubble and the new economy craze had given rise to the ESOP fable,

as it became an essential part of every HR manager's manual. However, the aura

surrounding this golden key to the treasure chest was blown into smithereens

following the dotcom bloodbath and subsequent economic slowdown. Though ESOP has

made a comeback especially in the software sector, it is now tempered with a

more judicious outlook. However, for these companies implementation of ESOPs and

proper allocation is a complex process. Help, however, is close at hand in the

form of Pune-based ESOP Direct, part of KP ESOP Consulting of the KPIT Group,

that specializes in end-to-end solutions for ESOPs and manages ESOP programs for

Indian companies and offers remote administration of ESOPs to overseas

companies.

But what exactly comes under the ambit of these end-to-end solutions and how

come the company chose such a unique domain? Says Harshu Ghate, managing

director, ESOP Direct, "We started in 2000 by advising companies on

designing employee stock options, but later realized they needed lot of help on

implementation."

The ESOP Direct solution, therefore, takes care of myriad issues like legal

allocation of shares, data maintenance, eligibility issues related to attrition,

employee transfer onsite and subsequent NRI status, employees on contract and

lastly the changing pattern of holdings of the companies in the face of a spate

of M&A activities. This gave birth to ESOP Manager, the product from the

ESOP Direct stable that not only manages all these issues but also facilitates

communication to employees, informs about the options vesting and even handles

the database management.

Currently, ESOP Direct services around 15,000 employees across 25 clients

with the total value of options exceeding Rs 1000 crore. Quite naturally, this

includes several software companies like i-Flex, Hexaware, Tata Infotech, Patni

and Geometric. Also on the client roster are NASDAQ-listed companies like Sify

and Rediff plus companies like eGain and iSoft that are listed on the US and UK

bourses. In the last 6-8 months the company has made a shift into the non-IT

sector where it now services companies like UTI Bank, IDBI Bank, Wockhardt,

Mahindra & Mahindra, ACC, HPCL and Shoppers Stop while it acts as a

consulting partner for ITC.