A M Naik steps down as non-executive chairman of LTIMindtree & LTTS
A M Naik, chairman emeritus of the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) group, today announced that he is stepping down as non-executive chairman and member of the board of its IT subsidiary firms LTIMindtree and L&T Technology Services (LTTS). He denied that both these tech firms will be merged anytime soon and also denied any churn in senior leadership at LTIMindtree.
The group also announced that S. N. Subrahmanyan, vice-chairman, will become chairman with effect from June 27, 2024.
“We are very focused on engineering, it’s our core competence. We believe that by mixing IT services and engineering we will not be able to bring the expertise in the engineering segment. We would like to keep these both separate,” said Naik in a media briefing post the annual general meeting (AGM) of LTIMindtree and LTTS.
In 2022, the board of LTI and Mindtree had approved the integration of both companies, making LTIMindtree the sixth-largest IT services company by revenue and the fifth-largest in terms of market cap.
Naik also refuted claims that LTIMindtree is going through a senior leadership churn. “I do not see any change in leadership. We have all of our people, we have a CEO, president of sales, and a COO. I do not see any change coming in the near future,” said Naik in response to a question about Debashis Chatterjee, CEO of LTIMindtree, who is on the way out as his term ends on November 13, 2025.
Recently, media reports had suggested that LTIMindtree is looking for a leadership change with Chatterjee’s tenure coming to an end. On Chatterjee’s specific question, Naik said that he is still with the company for the next 18 months and it is too early to start looking for a replacement.
Meanwhile, the group, which has interests in infrastructure, services, manufacturing, green energy, and defence, also acknowledged that it is facing a workforce challenge.
At any time, the group faces a workforce gap of about 40,000-45,000 labourers and engineers. The group, which is also focusing on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and upskilling employees, said within the IT-enabled services (ITeS) segment it sees a skills gap of around 20,000.
“We would at the moment, including attrition, need 20,000 engineers for the IT and ITeS business and another 25,000-30,000 labourers for L&T group,” said S. N. Subrahmanyan, chairman of L&T Group and non-executive chairman of LTIM and LTTS.
When asked if LTIMindtree will look for acquisitions, Subrahmanyan said: “We want to grow organically; that is how most of the businesses at L&T have grown, and that will be our thrust at LTIM as well. But if there is a very sensible opportunity, we will consider it. At the moment, there is nothing on the cards.”
First Published: Jun 26 2024 | 8:07 PM IST