TCS may follow multiple power-sharing structure

For TCS, India’s largest software services provider by sales, deciding who will fit into CEO S Ramadorai’s shoes after he retires in October was quite easy. It had to be crown prince N Chandrasekaran, who is COO now. But, finding the person to fit into Mr Chandrasekaran’s shoes is proving more difficult.

So much so, that TCS is actually looking at two or more people for the role. Top executives such as Ravi Viswanathan, NG Subramaniam, AS Lakshminarayanan and Abid Ali Neemuchwala are believed to be in the race. “There is an organisation transition to a new CEO currently underway at TCS. Therefore, it is too premature to comment on any restructuring or other organisational initiatives,” said a TCS spokesperson, in response to a mail from ET NOW.

However, multiple employees in senior positions and ex-employees in the know said that a multiple power-sharing formula was being discussed within the organisation, and it has only intensified in the last month or so, as TCS prepares to welcome on board its new CEO next month. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

There are three main reasons why TCS will most probably opt for this structure. TCS is now a $6-billion entity with a headcount of 1.4 lakh. So, huge management bandwidth will be required to carry out functions across different verticals, geographies and service lines. Secondly, Mr Chandrasekaran had too many people reporting into him, which may not be the case going forward. COO duties will be divided up among multiple executives. Thirdly, IT companies are increasingly trying to split duties among various levels in the company.