MUMBAI, NOV 5: Shiv Nadar has stepped down as chairman of yet another group company, HCL Infosystems. Ajai Chowdhry, president and CEO, will take his place as chairman, the Rs 950 crore IT hardware and services company said in a statement today.Nadar will continue to hold his shareholding in the company. Earlier, he had stepped down as chairman of NIIT, a software education and training company, in favour of Rajendra Pawar.Chowdhry, one of the six founder members of HCL, will continue to hold the post of CEO alongside his new responsibilities. Under Chowdhry, the company saw turnover grow to Rs 950 crore in 1998-99 from Rs 400.6 crore in 1994. He has been credited with HCL Insys' increased thrust on IT services. Revenue from services grew to Rs 161.54 crore in 1998-99 from Rs 105 crore the previous year. The company is targeting a 35 to 40 per cent rise in fiscal 2000.Chowdhry was instrumental in the company's software export initiative, partnership with SAP, and tie-ups with CRM and supply-chain solutions vendors. He initiated the globalisation programme under which HCL Insys established its presence in US, Europe, Malaysia and Singapore. It recently acquired FEC Singapore Pte Ltd. Under Chowdhry's charge, the company also set up three STPs (Software Technology Parks) in Noida, Chennai, and Calcutta.For the most recent quarter ended September 30, 1999, the company reported a net profit of Rs 15.1 crore on a turnover of Rs 228.7 crore (Rs 207 crore). HCL Technologies, another hi-profile group company, has global interests and is spread across 33 locations in 14 countries. The $ 120 million company recently announced it would enter the capital market through the book-building route with each equity share having a face value of Rs 4. HCL Tech has a joint venture, HCL Perot Systems. It recently bought over the partner's stake in HCL James Martin. Nadar, who has the majority shareholding in the company, said Choudhry's appointment was ``a natural progression for successfully steering the company from a pure hardware-driven to a services-focussed group company''.Chowdhry will continue to remain the chief executive officer alongside his new responsibilities. ``He has spearheaded the company to a clear, global growth path and I am sure that he will steer the company into a future built on stronger fundamentals and exponential growth,'' said Nadar.HCL Insys has been the flagship of Rs 3,300 crore HCL group so far, but Nadar has of late expressed keenness on building one-year-old HCL Technologies as the main technology company.``It is clear that Nadar is further encouraging professional management. This seems to be in line with the growth plans that he has for HCL Technologies. He has left HCL Insys in very safe hands. The market is likely to react positively to this move as the announcement has only formalised what was already expected.''
