L&T takeover impact: Mindtree's Executive Vice President Kamran Ozair quits within a week after three founders of IT firm resign

Hardly a week after Mindtree’s founders Krishnakumar Natarajan, Parthasarathy NS and Rostow Ravanan resigned from the company, its co-founder Kamran Ozair who is also the Executive Vice President has also reportedly quit the IT firm, said a media report. Ozair is currently responsible for the P&L, strategy and execution of the enterprise service lines including RUN, Package Solutions and Salesforce Practice, said a report in The Times of India. He is based out of Mindtree’s US headquarters in Warren, NJ, said the report. Within days of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) gaining control of Mindtree, the IT firm’s Chief Executive Officer Ravanan, Chairman Natarajan and Vice Chairman Parthasarathy quit the board and executive roles of the IT firm, said a PTI report. [caption id=“attachment_6968931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kamran Ozair. Picture courtesy: Mindtree[/caption] Over the last few weeks, there were speculations that Ravanan was on his way out. Reports had suggested that the construction major had asked Ravanan to step down as the new owners were preparing the grounds for a top management overhaul at the Bengaluru-based company. “…at the board meeting held on 5 July, 2019, Krishnakumar Natarajan (Executive Chairman), Parthasarathy NS (Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer) and Rostow Ravanan (CEO and Managing Director) have submitted their resignations as members of the board of directors of Mindtree and as employees of the company,” Mindtree said in a regulatory filing. The filing added that these officials will stay as board members till 17 July 2019 and as employees in line with their employment contracts to ensure smooth transition. On Monday, shares of Mindtree plunged 14.6 percent after the IT firm’s founders Natarajan, Parthasarathy and Ravanan resigned from the board and executive roles. The scrip tanked 12 percent to Rs 760 on the BSE. On the NSE, shares tumbled 14.57 percent to Rs 759. Early this month, Mindtree had said that L&T had “acquired control” of the company with a 60.06 percent stake and has been categorised as a promoter. The development is significant as the Mindtree founders had initially resisted the hostile takeover bid and had also tried to rally the support of large investors in the initial weeks of the drama. In a deal that had marked India’s first-ever hostile takeover bid in the IT space, L&T had bought 20.32 percent shares in Mindtree from V G Siddhartha and his coffee enterprise for over Rs 3,000 crore in March, and then shored up its holding with more shares from the open market and a subsequent open offer for additional 31 percent stake. — With PTI inputs