We will have to accelerate growth

Why the change now?

Generally, we are in good shape. And when everything is good, that is probably the right time to change. That does not mean that we have no challenges. We will always have competitive challenges. But by and large, things are in good shape.

Is it true that this change was planned a little earlier?

No. Nothing like that. However, the external conditions are much better than what it used to be a year back for the entire industry. Having said that, I am not certain whether the market is fully recovered. But it is a lot better.

Are you okay with the 10-12% growth that you are having for some time now?

No. We will accelerate growth. We will have to. But again, the figure that we really measure is the growth in global clientsthat is non-GE revenue. That was 24% in the first quarter this year. It was 16% overall last year. And in business process management (BPO), it was 18-19%. IT, of course, was lower.

But we expect GE to grow in low to mid single digits.

Yes, growth is lower than what we will like it to be. We will accelerate. And that would be both through organic and inorganic means.

You have been a role modelloved, respected and feared by people. Tiger is admired but does not probably command that kind of respect. Will it not create leadership issues?

Tiger is terrific. He is largely responsible for commercializing Genpact as a company. For close to 5 years, we grew 100% y-o-y in our global client revenue. Tiger deserves the maximum credit for that.

Also, he connects with people far more than I do. He is a workaholic. He is far better with leveraging technology.

He has many qualities that would help him run this company today far better. There are phases in an organizations evolution. As we enter a new phase, he may actually be better than me in meeting those challenges and leveraging the new opportunities.

Also, part of the reason for you asking the question, I guess, is the larger than life image that is created when you are constantly exposed to media. You get written about and all that. Once he assumes that role, that will also happen with him.

That is largely external...I am talking of internal images.

Well, some of it is folklore. It is about Pramod did this; he did that. But I think in a corporate, we should look more at facts and less at those folklores. Judging from peoples responses after this was announced, I can tell you that there is going to be no such issue.

What are the next challenges?

Some of the challenges remain. And you know them. Infrastructure continues to remain a challenge. Quality and quantity of people that we get for this industry has not improved. It has improved in engineering, but not for the kind of graduates that we require.

And opportunities?

They are many. Many more organizations should concentrate on their core work and outsource the rest. If they can get quality output, reliability of service and data privacy, there is no reason why they should not do it.

In some of the areas importance of individual experience is a lot more hyped. Say engineering services. Do you think they will gain by dissecting the processes and get more of the less qualified people?

Absolutely. That is the next big thing. Ultimately, we will have to dissect the processes and get specialists only where they are needed. You will be more efficient, you will scale up faster, you will have lesser cost of operations. Ultimately, that is where things will move. Neither we nor our clients have been bold to experiment. That is when a relationship like GE matters immensely.

What about government and public services as an opportunity?

That is a goldmine. That is bigger than anything that you have seen so far. Some companies like IBM, Accenture and Serco have succeeded to some extent. But there is much more to be done there. The need on the governments part is desperate. But it requires a slightly different model. It requires probably more onshore work. We cannot tap new opportunities if we do not change.

Honestly, we have not invested much on this. We have tried something in India but have not really succeeded so much. We have not had a major focus on this so far. But you are right. We must focus (on this). We have to.

How do you feel?

I am excited but uncertain and nervous too.