Ashok Vemuri is new iGate CEO: 5 things you need to know

Outsourcing firm iGate has appointed Ashok Vemuri as President and Chief Executive Officer with effect from 16 September.

The company had sacked former CEOPhaneesh Murthyin May this year over an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate

Vemuri will join iGate’s Board of Directors, iGate said in a statement.

Here are 5 things you should know about Ashok Vemuri:

Vemuri joins iGate from Infosys, where he was Head of Americas and Global Head of Manufacturing and Engineering, besides being a board member. He had also established and ran Infosys’ financial services and insurance vertical for almost a decade. Vemuri also served as Chairman of Infosys’ China operations. His last working day at Infosys is on Thursday, September 12.

According to a report in the Times of India, Vemuri would receive a compensation package of about $3 million (Rs 19 crore), in addition to stock options and performance-linked bonuses. In Infosys, his package was Rs 4.91 crore as cash compensation in 2012-13.

Vemuri was earlier widely considered a contender to succeed Infosys’ Chief Executive SD Shibulal. At Infosys, Vemuri was responsible for a business running $4.7 billion in revenues and Infosys’s biggest business unit. “His (Vemuri’s) managerial style is interesting in that it keeps everyone guessing, and therefore, on their toes. He has a laser-sharp focus on numbers and on outcomes. Vemuri is extremely disciplined, and very good at managing a complex political environment - else, he wouldn’t have gotten from a Manager to CEO-candidate at Infosys in 12 years,” Bala Palamadai, Founder & CEO of bizofIT, a start-up company based out of Chicago told Business Today.

Vemuri, who was considered to be very close to N R Narayana Murthy, the Executive Chairman of Infosys had made his intentions clear of becoming a CEO and decided to move on when he saw his chances were slim in Infosys. Speaking to Business Standard after Vemuri’s exi t, Murthy said that Vemuri did not consult him before taking the decision to quit. “He said, the probability of his becoming the CEO at Infosys was at best 33 percent and at least 18 to 20 months away. Therefore, he felt that he must move on. I agreed with him and wished him the best since he has been a wonderful Infoscion. He and I will continue our friendly relations even though he will no more be with us”, Murthy said.

Vemuri was elected to the Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2009.

Ashok Vemuri holds a degree in Physics from St. Stephens College, Delhi, and a degree in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.