Growth driver

In December this year, IBM India announced that it expected to touch the $1-billion revenue mark, becoming perhaps the first IT MNC giant to reach this landmark in India. Much of the credit for this growth should go to Shanker Annaswamy, a medical devices veteran, whose appointment to the top job at IBM India back in 2004 surprised many industry watchers. After spending 25 years in the medical devices industry, first with Philips and then with Wipro-GE, Annaswamy found himself running the burgeoning operations of IBM India. Since his appointment, IBM India’s fortunes (and business) have blossomed. Its employment roster, too, has grown to over 50,000.

An electronics and communications engineer from Madras University and a management post-grad from All India Management Association, New Delhi, Annaswamy is the first Indian to head IBM’s local operations. A hands-on manager, Annaswamy is a believer in quality techniques such as Six Sigma, which he picked up in Japan as the head of GE’s CT business. Unlike many of his peers who’ve worked non-stop in the corporate world, Annaswamy hasn’t been averse to stepping away from the spotlight to take up parental duties. Rather than try and juggle two hectic jobs, Annaswamy decided, in the early years of this decade, to take up an advisory role with the Oman Government, a flexible posting that gave him more free time with his family. However, at IBM India, he has little time for a break, given its rapid growth. He is known for constantly trying out new things at work. He has introduced new strategic units at IBM India to help the company retain its edge. For example, he launched the India Leadership Forum, a cross-functional team, to try and understand the opportunities before different business units and even set up a megadeal mechanism to target the large contracts being doled out in the Indian market.

Annaswamy has shown that he is keen to explore inorganic growth in the country by acquiring the Bangalore-based Network Solutions in 2005. While IBM’s India software, hardware and services businesses have grown 40 per cent over the last 12 months, spending by key industries such as banking and financial services and, most recently, small businesses have been at the centre of this strategy. While the $1-billion target may be on the horizon for IBM, Annaswamy has already earned his reward—IBM chief Sam Palmisano has tripled the $2-billion investment in India.