New Delhi, April 24, 2002: Mr. Arun Kumar formally takes over
as the Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2002-03 from Mr. Phiroz
Vandrevala with the executive council today unanimously ratifying
his appointment. Mr. Arun Kumar has previously served as the Vice-Chairman
of NASSCOM in the last financial year and is also the President
and Managing Director of Hughes Software Systems (HSS) and the
Chairman of Hughes Network Systems (HNS) in India.
Speaking on the appointment, Mr. Kiran Karnik, President, NASSCOM
said, "Phiroz has done an incredible job of steering NASSCOM
and the Indian IT industry in the past year; his energy, leadership
and commitment has enabled the industry to continue its growth
momentum."
"We are delighted to have Mr. Arun Kumar as the new Chairman
of NASSCOM. He is widely recognized as one of the key figures
in the telecom and IT sector. Mr. Kumar's deep understanding of
the industry and his experience of working in international markets
should be of special value to NASSCOM's attempt to widen and deepen
the global reach of India's software exports", he further
added.
Added, Mr. Phiroz Vandrevala, Past Chairman, NASSCOM, "The
last year was a challenging and exciting year for NASSCOM, the
industry and for me. A lot of this related to the uncertainties
in the business environment as well as tragedies faced by our
biggest customer country, the USA and the loss of Dewang, the
biggest champion for the Indian IT industry. Thankfully, we have
been able to come out from this period successfully and both NASSCOM
and the industry are stronger than ever before."
"It gives me great pleasure to welcome Arun to takeover
my role and continue the momentum the industry has maintained.
I have had the opportunity to work with him closely in his past
capacity as Vice Chairman and I am confident that his experience
will assist us to a great extent in our future growth", he
added.
Speaking on his appointment, Mr. Arun Kumar, Chairman, NASSCOM,
said, "I am honoured to take on the role of the Chairman
of NASSCOM. The task ahead for us at NASSCOM is challenging and
exciting in the present economic environment. My endeavour will
be to work closely with the industry and government to ensure
that we continue to focus on our exports growth and also develop
a strong domestic IT market in India. With signs of revival in
the US economy and India gaining ground as the preferred outsourcing
destination, I believe the Indian Software and Service industry
will continue to witness rapid growth."
Prior to coming to India to head operations of HSS, Mr. Kumar
was the Head of the West Coast operations for HNS, based in San
Diego, California. While at HNS, Kumar was part of the team that
developed the first VSAT and Cellular Telephony System. Coming
to India in 1995 to head HSS, Kumar has been credited with much
of the successes enjoyed by HSS, including its landmark IPO.
Kumar's strategy has been nodal for evolving HSS' unique positioning,
developing high value-added embedded software products in India
and selling to the world.
People orientation and perseverance, an important part of the
Kumar credo has seen HSS initiate path-breaking HR and organizational
development practices. Consequently, HSS has been recognized among
the best companies to work for in India for the last two years
by Business Today Hewitt Associates in their annual study. HSS
has also won awards for excellence in Human Resource Development
from the CIO magazine and the India HRD conclave.
Mr. Kumar holds a B.tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur
and has an MS in Computer Science. A keen golfer, Kumar loves
to travel with his wife and son to places of historical interest.
About NASSCOM
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM)
is the umbrella organization for IT software and service companies
in India. Formed in 1988, Nasscom's objective is to act as a catalyst
for the growth of the globally competitive software-driven IT
industry in India. Nasscom is a non-profit organization with over
854 member companies that collectively contribute to more than
95 percent of revenues of Indian software industry. Its members
include software, Internet and E-commerce companies spanning private,
public sectors that include homegrown companies and multi-nationals.
Nasscom is internationally represented at WITSA (World Information
Technology Services Alliance) and ASOCIO (Asian Ocean Computing
Industry Organization).
For further information, please contact:
P. Shivakumar/Bani Paintal
Text 100
Tel: +91-11-3363995-8
Email: shivak@text100india.com
/ banip@text100india.com
Shivani Srivastava
NASSCOM
Tel: +91-11-3015416-19
Email: shivani@nasscom.org
Last updated :
December 26, 2006
|
