Satyam rebrands with new exec team

Controversial Indian IT outsourcing giant Satyam is to be rebranded Mahindra Satyam with a new executive team and may receive a funding injection from 31% stakeholder Tech Mahindra.

Tech Mahindra’s board has approved an institutional share placement which could raise up to 10 billion rupees and increase the stake in Satyam to 51%.

Satyam has endured a year of scandal starting with revelations in early January that founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju was embroiled in an elaborate fraud which included embellishing profit and revenue and creating fictitious cash balances.

Following government intervention and a fresh board 31% of the company was sold via auction to Tech Mahindra. BT has a 31% stake in Tech Mahindra. 

Senior executives at Satyam, Tech Mahindra and M&M had been working on the re-branding exercise with select external advisors ever since Tech Mahindra’s acquisition.

As part of the new look Satyam, a new tier of senior executives are to be revealed.

The Economic Times reports that AS Murthy, who was the Satyam CEO, will now be shifted to the CTO role at Mahindra Satyam, and C.P Gurnani will take over as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Mahindra Satyam.

Executive Ram Mynampati - who was the interim CEO of Satyam during its most tumultuous phase - has left the company, with Keshab Panda taking his role. 

Panda was the head of the Europe business will be replaced by Vikram Nayyar from Tech Mahindra. Meanwhile Subramaniam Durgashankar, is expected to take over as chief financial officer, according to the Business Standard.