Satyam gets new chief executive, advisors

After a month long suspense, the beleaguered Satyam Computer Services Limited (SATYAM) finally got a head with A S Murty, the Chief Delivery Officer, taking over today as its Chief Executive Officer.

The Board after a two-day meeting here, also announced the appointment of former Tata Chemicals Limited Managing Director Homi Khusrokhan and former Indian Aluminium Company (INDAL) Chief Financial Officer Partho S Datta as Special Advisors to the Board.

Contrary to speculations that an outsider might be reined in to head the embattled company, the Board elevated an in-house 15-year veteran of Satyam with deep understanding of the organisation to steer the company out of the crisis.
However, the two Special Advisors along with the Boston Consulting Group would assist the CEO and the Board in management and finance areas and also help in defining priorities and executing them effectively. Even as a high ranking team from the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) flew in from the US to meet the members of the Board and SEBI, the Board, in a post-meeting statement, said its key priorities and collective focus remained unchanged.

It was assessing legal liabilities and working out strategies to deal with them comprehensively with the assistance of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz who have been appointed as Satyam's lawyers to address the Class Action suits in US.

Latham and Watkins have been lawyers to Satyam for over eight years and they would continue to support Satyam in its continuing dialogue with US SEC.

''These decisions are aimed at quickly stabilising Satyam. The organisation has visibly increased its focus on business continuity for its customers and confidence building amongst its associates (employees) and vendors'', the Board statement said.

The Board also confirmed that its key focus would be reaching out to key customers and associates to reinforce their trust and confidence, asserting the financial position and restatement of Q3 results, evaluating long-term strategic options, in consultation with the Advisors, assessing legal liabilities and dealing with them comprehensively, undertaking cost rationalisation measures and resuming investments in identified areas.