My priority is to leverage Satyam's strengths': Mahindra Satyam CEO Gurnani

CP Gurnani, the new CEO of Mahindra Satyam, brings to the table over two decades of experience in the IT industry. As head of global operations in Tech Mahindra, he played a key role in expanding the non-British Telecom business of TechM . The ex-HCL honcho has his task cut-out of restoring credibility and customer confidence in fraud-hit Satyam. Tech Mahindra will hold a stake of up to 43% in Satyam, if the open offer fails to elicit response, said Mr Gurnani in an exclusive interview with ET Bureau. Excerpts:

What are your top priorities?

Our single-minded objective is to get Satyam back to the status that it enjoyed as a respected top-tier IT services player. The company has tremendous strengths in delivery excellence, its committed associates and differentiated service offerings. My priority is to get the company re-energised and leverage these strengths effectively, to gain traction for accelerated growth.

What are the key challenges ahead?

The past few months have been a difficult period for Satyam and its associates. They have stood by the company and stepped up the quality of the services. We are in a phase of stabilisation now — stabilising the organisation, the business and the financials.

What will be TechM’s stake in Satyam, if the open offer does not elicit any response?

We will go up to 43%, if the open offer does not elicit any response.

What will be the joint go-to-market strategy between TechM and Mahindra Satyam?

We are looking at taking Mahindra Satyam’s extended services in enterprise business services, engineering and consulting to the TechM customer base and these efforts have started. Similarly, TechM’s expertise in account-mining and innovative pricing models would be leveraged as we expand and deepen the relationships with Mahindra Satyam customers.

Are you planning to restructure verticals to optimise revenues?

We have redesigned the organisation structure to make it even more customer-centric and agile. Our access to customers and geographical penetration stands further enhanced, as decision layers are being minimised and a greater role is being envisaged for the delivery teams in mining and nurturing accounts.

Will there be more top level changes in the firm?

We are keen to keep the customer facing organisation as stable as possible. Having said that, if there are specific changes required — based on market and organisational realities — we will continue to make them with minimal disruption to the business.

Will it be big-ticket contracts or large number of small contracts to boost revenues?

It is a strategic imperative to pursue all possible deals. Both options will, hence, be actively pursued. Mahindra Satyam still has a robust customer base — a number of them in the Global 500 list. We are viewing this as an opportunity to invest in these relationships, mine them effectively and grow them at a steady pace

Are you also looking at re-pricing contracts to beat competition?

Re-pricing to outbid competition is not a sustainable strategy. What is of importance is to be able to show value growth for our customers and share in the gains that we can enable them achieve.

Is out-of-court settlements in legal disputes being considered? What is the revenue target for this fiscal?

Given that the matter is sub-judice, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the case or on the recourse being contemplated. We cannot comment on the specifics on revenues cannot comment on the specifics at this time. We still have challenging times ahead. But I am confident that the collective efforts of the team will help us tide over this situation

When will the re-statement of Satyam’s accounts be completed?

We continue to work on expediting the announcement of restated financials. Given the gravity of this issue, it is expected to take some more time. At this stage, we are unable to commit to an exact timeline.