Satyam's super six: The real heroes of a great rescue story

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/satyams-supersix-the-real-heroes-of-a-great-rescue-story/articleshow/12395678.cms?curpg=3 ET on Sunday identifies the six key managers and explains their role in India Inc's most remarkable makeover. The People's Techie Who: AS Murthy What: Chief Technology Officer Rescue Act : One of the few high-profile survivors from 'old Satyam', Murty's mandate was, and is, to make sure the company doesn't fall behind in technical capabilities. Murty was also the post-scandal interim CEO. "When customers, employees were deserting, he held the company together," says Rakesh Soni, COO, Satyam, about Murty. In the past three years, Murty has had all core competencies reporting to him. He's not your typical flamboyant tech virtuoso who walks very importantly a few paces behind the CEO. He joined Satyam when it had just 50 employees. And he knows the top 500 people in the firm by name. That, colleagues say, defines the man. The Clean-Up Man Who: S Durgashankar What: Chief Financial Officer (Jun'09 - Mar'11) Rescue Act: Durgashankar was the financial general brought in by Mahindra. When he took over as CFO in 2009, there were rumours, speculations and theories about what Satyam's books actually held. Durgashankar had the un-envious job of cleaning up the mess. He also had to fight with investigating agencies to get access to files and account books.

His key successes include clearly defining the auditors' mandate, appointing new auditors and creating a corporate ombudsman post. He also had to save every rupee he could, be it in taxes or investing surplus cash. Now, Durgashankar is back with the Mahindras drawing up mergers and acquisitions strategy for them.

HR with Heart Who : Hari Thalapalli What: Chief People's Officer Rescue Act: When you see 30,000 people smiling today at Mahindra Satyam, it's tough to imagine Hari Thalapalli's sleep-deprived face after the scandal. He was then the chief marketing officer, but was asked to become chief people's officer again because the 50,000 people he had hired needed morale boosting. He also travelled around the world to resurrect the brand. And he led the marketing strategy - Mahindra Satyam banners adorned every football stadia in South Africa during the 2011 Fifa World Cup.

At Davos the same year, he led a team to engage big potential clients. Thalapalli says he "fought a war almost" with the new management to give employees salary hikes. The Cool Cost-Cutter Who: Rakesh Soni What: Chief Operating Officer Rescue Act: Rakesh Soni was appointed COO of Mahindra Satyam in April 2009. He was stunned, he says, when he got the job. His toughest remits were to cut costs and rightsize manpower. Satyam had eight offices in Hyderabad alone. In the first six months, he tried to wriggle out of long-term leases and sell property. Laying off 10,000 employees was very hard, he recalls. Soni says he was confident of Satyamites getting new jobs because their delivery capabilities were higher than industry averages.

Under his watch, the firm's operating profit margin has risen from a meagre 3% to 16% in three years. And the firm now has a cash reserve of Rs 2,000 crore.

Vertical Wizard Who: Manish Mehta What: Chief Vertical Solutions Officer Rescue Act: Before the meltdown, Manish Mehta championed the automotive and manufacturing verticals at Satyam, and led the firm's fast rise in SAP and Oracle practices. But he left when the scam broke, and went to Patni. But he was back in a year, and his brief was, among other things, anticipating services required by customers. The post of chief verticals solutions officer was carved out for him. He's the boss of all the verticals and the consulting enterprise solutions. Because he demonstrated excellence in his last assignment, he will now also be the chief innovation officer. Tough as that job may be, it should be easy compared to what he did two years back.

Mr Enterprise Who: Sriram Papani What: Senior Vice-President Rescue Act: In 2009, if Satyam was the fourth largest IT company, it was because of its enterprise business solutions offering, which accounted for almost 50% of the revenues. And Sriram Papani was responsible for that. That's why Papani was wooed back - he had left after the scam broke. His homecoming not only helped rebuild the EBS team, but also won back a lot of customers. His return was seen as a sign of credibility because he'd spent 12 years nurturing the business. Less than a year after the scam, Satyam made its first profit. Papani's current responsibilities are many, from partner relationship management to finding businesses in newer geographies.