Four top officials leaving Satyam

HYDERABAD: Four top guns are on their way out of the scam-hit IT major Satyam and buzz is that many senior functionaries of the firm will soon follow suit. Possibly speculating a realignment of roles by Tech Mahindra, senior vice presidents Virender Aggarwal and Gary Teelucksingh have put in their papers, according to sources. Aggarwal is the regional business unit head for Asia Pacific and Middle East and Teelucksingh is the senior vice president for Satyam Americas that includesCanada, Latin America and the Caribbean region. Sources in the company said that two other important people, Krish Kumaraswamy, the SAP Technology Practice head and Ramesh Babu, the second in command for the SAP business unit have also quit. Senior industry analysts said that Kumaraswamy could have quit to join HCL that has recently bagged a major SAP project. Industry analysts said that senior employees may have sensed Tech Mahindra's plan of action which may have included scrapping of some positions or appointing its own set of senior vice presidents. "You move when your situation is good," said a senior industry source, explaining that quitting while holding a respectable senior position possibly appeared as a wise decision to the big shots of Satyam, who may have been able to bargain for good deals with other firms, which may not have been the case had TechM tampered with their positions. "There could be concerns of some positions even ceasing to exist. After all, customers are drying up in regions like Middle East and Latin America," said a company source. Of the four, sources say Virender Aggarwal is the biggest wicket, who not only spent 10 years in Satyam (he joined the company in 1999, leaving NIIT where he held the position of vice president) but played a key role in Satyam's expansion in other regions, particularly Singapore, where he was taking up Satyam's expansion plans since the year 2000.