Putting to rest all the speculations surrounding the appointment of Satyam’s new chief executive officer (CEO), the six-member government-installed board today inducted A S Murty — a Satyam veteran — for the top job at the company with immediate effect.The board also announced the appointment of Homi Khusrokhan, former managing director of Tata Chemicals, and Partho Datta, Murugappa Group’s former director (finance) as special advisors to the board to assist in management and finance areas, respectively.
The special advisors, along with Boston Consulting Group, will work pro bono and will assist the newly-named CEO and the board, in defining priorities and executing them effectively.
The board also confirmed receiving bank sanctions to the tune of Rs 600 crore as a planned fund infusion towards working capital requirements. This funding, along with healthy collections, is expected to help the company tide over its financial challenges.
Satyam also reaffirmed that January 2009 salaries globally and the fortnightly salary in February 2009 for its US-based associates have been met from its internal accruals.
“Murty (fondly called ASM) is a Satyam veteran of 15 years, and has been in its forefront since January 1994. He brings to play a deep understanding of the organisation, proven expertise in leading a business unit, overseeing global delivery, nurturing costumer relationships and spearheading the entire gamut of the human resource functions. He is well respected for his ability to effectively integrate the team and enable a collective decision making, which will be critical as Satyam moves into its revival phase,” board member Deepak Parekh said in a statement.
“In our interactions over the past few weeks, we are convinced that Satyam needs an internal leader to steer it at this critical juncture and ASM has the required bandwidth and support,” he added.
These decisions are aimed at quickly stabilising Satyam. The organisation has visibly increased its focus on business continuity for its customers and confidence building amongst its associates (employees) and vendors, the board, which along with its advisors met over two days — the fifth meeting in less than a month — on Thursday.
“This is a unique opportunity to provide direction and guidance and I accept it with all humility. I have no misgivings about the enormity of the task in front of us, but together with my colleagues, I am confident we can accomplish the impossible. I look forward to working very closely with the board, our advisors and all Satyamites – to restore Satyam to its well-deserved glory. We will chart a precise and practical 30–60–90 day plan that will encompass and address the interests of all stakeholders,” Murty said.
“Having led large organisations before, I expect this opportunity to be a singularly enriching experience and I look forward to contributing my might to this noble task,” Khusrokhan said on his new role as the special advisor to Satyam.
“Completing the complex financial restatement exercise, including announcement of Q3 results and ensuring prudent financial operations will be the primary focus in the next few weeks,” said Datta, who will be overseeing the financial operations of the company.
The board reconfirmed that their key priorities and collective focus remain unchanged. These include reaching out to key customers and associates to reinforce their trust and confidence, asserting the financial position and restatement of Q3 results, evaluating long-term strategic options, in consultation with the advisors, assessing legal liabilities and dealing with them comprehensively, undertaking cost rationalisation measures and resuming investments in identified areas.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have been appointed as Satyam’s lawyers to address the Class Action suits in the US. Latham & Watkins have been lawyers to Satyam for over eight years and they will continue to support Satyam in its continuing dialogue with US Sec, the release said.
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