Rank - 19 : Patni : A Question of Ownership

When Jeya Kumar, an industry veteran who had worked with Sun and MphasiS,
took over as the CEO of Patni in March 2009, few believed that he would be able
to bring about changewhich at that time made headlines for all the wrong
reasons, especially the issue of conflict between the owners about the stake
sale in the company. But after one year, Patni has improved its EPS by 52%, and
the future looks far better.

The revenues in a tough year remained flat and the revenue without BPO, which we
consider for our rankings, actually dropped 1%.

CEO Jeya Kumar wanted to bring about some fundamental changes in the company
with long term implicationssomething that is tough to do even in a positive
market environment. For example, Kumar realized that the problem with the
company is not really that of expertise and skills; it was that of vision and
visibility.

He started by hiring/restructuring the senior management in all the frontline
business positions, while not touching the horizontal delivery leadership. A
slow year also meant working on the operational metrics as an immediate
priority, which the company did with good results.

The company also realized that it needed to project well its differentiations.
Patnis strength in engineering servicesan unsung strengthis now being
highlighted. Its success in the Japan market and Kumars personal experience in
that geography is being leveraged. The company is also looking at tapping
continental Europe and is not averse to sub contracts from local companies.

Ironically, it was not his strategic thinking and execution, but the decision by
a promoters son, Anirudh Patni, to leave the company after he had differences
with the new management that established to the external world that Kumar meant
business.

Possibilities of takeover by some Japanese companies hit media headlines, and
even now, not many company watchers and analysts rule that out completely.