WNS' CEO hunt narrows to Nambiar, Kurien

MUMBAI: The race to head India���s second-largest BPO WNS has narrowed down to Rajesh Nambiar of IBM Global Services and TK Kurien of Wipro, according to a person close to the matter.

WNS had roped in executive search firm Egon Zehnder to find a new chief executive after co-founder and group CEO Neeraj Bhargava announced that he was stepping down. However, the process was put on hold, as the BPO���s largest shareholder Warburg Pincus initiated plans to sell its 50% stake. With the stake sale now being called off, the search process has resumed.

���An announcement about the new CEO is expected very soon,��� said the person requesting anonymity. A company spokesperson said WNS does not comment on market speculation. Mr Nambiar is in a key role in IBM���s India operations heading its global delivery, a space where it competes with Indian outsourcing majors, such Tata Consultancy Services and US rival Accenture. He is also part of IBM���s core 10-member team on technology at the global level.

Mr Kurien, who once headed Wipro���s BPO business, moved into a new role after a reorganisation in April 2008 following the appointment of Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe as joint CEOs. He is currently president, Wipro Consulting Services, global programs and strategic initiatives. He is also part of Wipro���s corporate executive council, and reports directly to Azim Premji for new initiatives outside the IT business.

Following the reorganisation, there was a buzz that Mr Kurien would leave Wipro. He is credited with successfully integrating Spectramind into the company. He has more than 23 years of experience, of which around 10 years are with GE. Prior to joining Wipro, he was managing director and CFO of GE Medical Systems.

The WNS decision will be critical to Warburg Pincus plans to exit the company, which is expected to revive the process after a short interval. It had called off the process because the bids received were below expectations. ���The CEO who comes in will also have to contend with this uncertainty,��� pointed out a senior executive from the BPO industry.