Infosys May Eye Acquisitions In Nordic Countries, Says President BG Srinivas

BANGALORE: Infosys president BG Srinivas is highlighting growth and opportunities in Europe, a region he used to head, while the company searches within and outside for its first non founder chief executive.

Srinivas, who was made one of the two presidents of Infosys in January with responsibility for most client-facing functions, was especially bullish about Nordic countries where he said the company may look at acquisition targets. And in Europe as a whole the aim is to increase revenue contribution to 30% from 25% now.

Within a decade, revenue from Europe has increased nearly tenfold to $2 billion, far higher than for the rest of Infosys, he said, talking up his ability to drive growth in key markets and industry verticals. A 15-year veteran of Infosys, he has been head of Europe since 2004, the year the company crossed the $1-billion revenue milestone. "Very few companies have created that kind of growth story in Europe.

It didn’t happen because of sheer chance," he said. "Our consulting-led business in Europe is far ahead of Infosys."

Srinivas, 53, said Infosys’s next acquisition could be similar to Lodestone, the Zurich-based management consultancy firm it bought in 2012 for $350 million. "We may look at something like a Lodestone in Nordics," he said, referring to a region that comprises Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

A board member since 2011, Srinivas was made president along with UB Pravin Rao who has been given oversight of most delivery functions.

Many analysts and industry executives believe that Srinivas is a strong contender to succeed SD Shibulal as the first non-founder CEO of Infosys because of his experience in winning large outsourcing contracts.

Every key vertical has a fullfledged senior manager focussing only on Europe, Srinivas said, and structurally Europe has been aligned as a separate market. In France and Germany the company has been presenting a local face as well as domain expertise, with sales and consulting teams working closely.

One of the ways to grow Infosys revenue, he said, is to expand the company’s local presence in non-English-speaking European markets, especially the Nordics and Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), where it plans to appoint a regional head and local sales team over the next six months.

Another plan is to grow sales from the products, platforms and solutions (PPS) unit that Infosys plans to make into a separate subsidiary after shareholders approve the plan at the next annual general body meeting. "We will definitely focus on accelerating PPS growth rate far higher than rest of Infosys so its percentage contribution to Infosys will increase," he said.