02-23-2005, 08:57 PM
THE WALLSTREET JOURNAL ONLINE
<b>India Poaches U.S. Executives For Tech Jobs</b>
By JAY SOLOMON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 22, 2005; Page B1
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->NEW DELHI -- For 12 years, Doug Bettinger was a senior finance executive at Intel Corp., working at the U.S. computer-chip maker's offices in Silicon Valley, Arizona and Malaysia. In November, the 37-year-old jumped ship, becoming chief financial officer of Bangalore-based call center operator 24/7 Customer.
"The growth India is experiencing is crazy," says Mr. Bettinger, who now splits his time between 24/7 Customer's offices in Los Gatos, Calif., and Bangalore. "There are lots of opportunities there that you couldn't get at Intel."
Mr. Bettinger is among a growing number of U.S. and Western executives being poached -- not to mention well-paid -- by Indian technology companies trying to globalize their software and outsourcing businesses. In recent months, Indian businesses have hired dozens of executives from companies including Electronic Data Systems Corp., Deloitte Consulting LLP, McKinsey & Co., Accenture Ltd. and Ernst & Young LLP.
Indian software giants and other Indian outsourcing companies are becoming more profitable as demand for their low-cost services increases. Tata Group's Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Wipro Technologies Ltd. all have had annual revenue growth of around 50% in recent quarters and are hiring thousands of new workers each quarter.
Such growing financial clout is allowing Indian companies to woo Western executives -- especially with higher salaries. "Six or seven figures are often involved, and equity is also in play," says Rohit Ambekar, an Asia-based partner with Morgan Howard Worldwide, a Stamford, Conn., executive search company.
Headhunters working for Indian companies say their clients have to pay a premium to attract U.S. talent due to their companies' lower profiles and limited track records. In one recent case, an Indian company offered an American executive a base salary of $350,000 plus a potential bonus of $2 million over two years to join its U.S. operations, according to an executive with knowledge of the deal. The executive's salary at his U.S. company was $300,000 annually plus stock options equal to around $1.2 million over four years.
U.S. companies, meanwhile, say they are competing aggressively with Indian companies for both talent and market share. EDS has nearly 3,000 workers in India focusing on software development and back-office duties, and expects to add 2,000 more this year. Intel says it is growing its research and development facilities in India and has been investing in Indian companies through its Intel Capital unit in a bid to boost its business in Asia.
Many Indian businessmen say these Western executives can help their companies penetrate overseas markets and help put in place systems to manage their growth. "Doug comes from a company ... where he's seen scale," says P.V. Kannan, chief executive officer of 24/7 Customer, who hired Mr. Bettinger. "Only a limited number of Indian executives have this type of experience."
Mr. Kannan says his company is close to making an acquisition of a call-center operator in the U.S., which could more than double his company's revenue to around $100 million. 24/7 Customer is also adding 2,500 workers in the coming months and expanding into Europe and Asia.
Bombay-based Patni Computer Systems Ltd. is another Indian company aggressively hiring Western executives as it tries to expand in the U.S. and Europe. Patni, like many Indian software companies, started posting strong growth in the mid-1990s by supplying low-end software products and services to multinationals such as General Electric Co
But little attention was paid at that time to developing Patni's name outside India. Today, Patni has offices in 26 countries and a U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Early last year, the company hired business consultant Bill Budde from EDS in an attempt to compete with the Plano, Texas, company and others that provide software and services to the global insurance industry. Patni also recently hired former Motorola Corp. executive Tony Viola to head its North American marketing operations as it seeks to become a $1 billion company in sales. Last year, Patni had net profit of $58 million on sales of $327 million.
Mr. Budde and Mr. Viola today lead peripatetic lives. The 44-year-old Mr. Budde describes his office as "wherever my laptop sits" as he shuffles between the Indian cities of Bombay, Noida and Madras, and Patni's U.S. offices, trying to increase the company's U.S. presence. The majority of Patni's nearly 10,000-strong work force remains in India, with only 250 employees in the U.S.
Mr. Budde says Patni is more nimble than large American consulting and software companies in responding to client's needs. He says much of his six years at EDS was spent dealing with bureaucratic issues and colleagues, rather than clients. "Now I can focus on what we do well," he says.
Greg Young, formerly of Australia's telecommunications giant, Telstra Corp., is among those businessmen Mr. Ambekar recently placed. In December, Tata Group, India's second-largest conglomerate, named him the chief technology officer of its telecommunications arm. The 42-year-old says he received a "very complete package" -- including housing and transportation -- and the opportunity to oversee the attempts by Tata Teleservices Ltd. to win a sizable share of the cellphone industry.
Indian companies are recruiting at a time when Western workers are worried about losing their jobs at U.S. companies as their positions are outsourced overseas. In recent months, companies such as Accenture and International Business Machines Corp. have hired locals in developing countries including India as they seek to reduce costs to compete with the likes of Infosys and Wipro.
Indian companies are now offering a degree of job security that's harder to come by in job-short Silicon Valley. "There's never been a better time to be hiring," says Stephen Pratt, a San Francisco-based executive who left Deloitte Consulting last April to head Infosys's new global consulting arm in Fremont, Calif. Mr. Pratt has helped Bangalore-based Infosys recruit more than 70 executives. "We're hungrier than other firms."
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<b>India Poaches U.S. Executives For Tech Jobs</b>
By JAY SOLOMON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 22, 2005; Page B1
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->NEW DELHI -- For 12 years, Doug Bettinger was a senior finance executive at Intel Corp., working at the U.S. computer-chip maker's offices in Silicon Valley, Arizona and Malaysia. In November, the 37-year-old jumped ship, becoming chief financial officer of Bangalore-based call center operator 24/7 Customer.
"The growth India is experiencing is crazy," says Mr. Bettinger, who now splits his time between 24/7 Customer's offices in Los Gatos, Calif., and Bangalore. "There are lots of opportunities there that you couldn't get at Intel."
Mr. Bettinger is among a growing number of U.S. and Western executives being poached -- not to mention well-paid -- by Indian technology companies trying to globalize their software and outsourcing businesses. In recent months, Indian businesses have hired dozens of executives from companies including Electronic Data Systems Corp., Deloitte Consulting LLP, McKinsey & Co., Accenture Ltd. and Ernst & Young LLP.
Indian software giants and other Indian outsourcing companies are becoming more profitable as demand for their low-cost services increases. Tata Group's Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Wipro Technologies Ltd. all have had annual revenue growth of around 50% in recent quarters and are hiring thousands of new workers each quarter.
Such growing financial clout is allowing Indian companies to woo Western executives -- especially with higher salaries. "Six or seven figures are often involved, and equity is also in play," says Rohit Ambekar, an Asia-based partner with Morgan Howard Worldwide, a Stamford, Conn., executive search company.
Headhunters working for Indian companies say their clients have to pay a premium to attract U.S. talent due to their companies' lower profiles and limited track records. In one recent case, an Indian company offered an American executive a base salary of $350,000 plus a potential bonus of $2 million over two years to join its U.S. operations, according to an executive with knowledge of the deal. The executive's salary at his U.S. company was $300,000 annually plus stock options equal to around $1.2 million over four years.
U.S. companies, meanwhile, say they are competing aggressively with Indian companies for both talent and market share. EDS has nearly 3,000 workers in India focusing on software development and back-office duties, and expects to add 2,000 more this year. Intel says it is growing its research and development facilities in India and has been investing in Indian companies through its Intel Capital unit in a bid to boost its business in Asia.
Many Indian businessmen say these Western executives can help their companies penetrate overseas markets and help put in place systems to manage their growth. "Doug comes from a company ... where he's seen scale," says P.V. Kannan, chief executive officer of 24/7 Customer, who hired Mr. Bettinger. "Only a limited number of Indian executives have this type of experience."
Mr. Kannan says his company is close to making an acquisition of a call-center operator in the U.S., which could more than double his company's revenue to around $100 million. 24/7 Customer is also adding 2,500 workers in the coming months and expanding into Europe and Asia.
Bombay-based Patni Computer Systems Ltd. is another Indian company aggressively hiring Western executives as it tries to expand in the U.S. and Europe. Patni, like many Indian software companies, started posting strong growth in the mid-1990s by supplying low-end software products and services to multinationals such as General Electric Co
But little attention was paid at that time to developing Patni's name outside India. Today, Patni has offices in 26 countries and a U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Early last year, the company hired business consultant Bill Budde from EDS in an attempt to compete with the Plano, Texas, company and others that provide software and services to the global insurance industry. Patni also recently hired former Motorola Corp. executive Tony Viola to head its North American marketing operations as it seeks to become a $1 billion company in sales. Last year, Patni had net profit of $58 million on sales of $327 million.
Mr. Budde and Mr. Viola today lead peripatetic lives. The 44-year-old Mr. Budde describes his office as "wherever my laptop sits" as he shuffles between the Indian cities of Bombay, Noida and Madras, and Patni's U.S. offices, trying to increase the company's U.S. presence. The majority of Patni's nearly 10,000-strong work force remains in India, with only 250 employees in the U.S.
Mr. Budde says Patni is more nimble than large American consulting and software companies in responding to client's needs. He says much of his six years at EDS was spent dealing with bureaucratic issues and colleagues, rather than clients. "Now I can focus on what we do well," he says.
Greg Young, formerly of Australia's telecommunications giant, Telstra Corp., is among those businessmen Mr. Ambekar recently placed. In December, Tata Group, India's second-largest conglomerate, named him the chief technology officer of its telecommunications arm. The 42-year-old says he received a "very complete package" -- including housing and transportation -- and the opportunity to oversee the attempts by Tata Teleservices Ltd. to win a sizable share of the cellphone industry.
Indian companies are recruiting at a time when Western workers are worried about losing their jobs at U.S. companies as their positions are outsourced overseas. In recent months, companies such as Accenture and International Business Machines Corp. have hired locals in developing countries including India as they seek to reduce costs to compete with the likes of Infosys and Wipro.
Indian companies are now offering a degree of job security that's harder to come by in job-short Silicon Valley. "There's never been a better time to be hiring," says Stephen Pratt, a San Francisco-based executive who left Deloitte Consulting last April to head Infosys's new global consulting arm in Fremont, Calif. Mr. Pratt has helped Bangalore-based Infosys recruit more than 70 executives. "We're hungrier than other firms."
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