Internal leadership is not working out for IT sector; outsiders are being preferred for CEO roles

Is the Indian IT sector facing an internal leadership crisis? After the appointment of Abidali Z Neemuchwala as Wipro CEO, experts say many top companies are opting for outsiders for CEO roles.

Despite having a strong team and world-class leaders, Infosys and Tech Mahindra have also chosen leaders from outside.

"There is strong evidence, globally, that under normal conditions, promoting an insider to the top job is by far the safer choice, but at times of significant industry change and disruption, bringing in a CEO from the outside yields better results despite the cultural risks," Ravi Venkatesan, chairman of Bank of Baroda and a board member at Infosys, told ET.

One of the possibilities can also be that most of the companies are not doing their best to groom internal talent for top roles.

Not enough succession planning can also be another reason.

Academician Vivek Wadhwa told ET, “Companies often lack the knowledge and perspective of these changes - and knowledge of other markets. That is why it can be a good thing to bring in a smart, motivated and highly competent executive from outside the company - who has something to prove.”

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