TCS courts young in new succession plan

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest software firm by revenues, has kicked off a succession plan as it wants to elevate younger executives into the top management cadre. Under the plan, the company has started a new leadership programme for executives in the age bracket of 35-43.

The executives, who are now being groomed to take up bigger roles through extensive training programmes, will be given important roles in the company’s five verticals. TCS divided its operations into five verticals in February this year, moving away from an organisational structure linked to geography and services.“It’s an attempt to create a second layer of leadership,” said an official close to TCS, requesting anonymity.

Ajoyendra Mukherjee, the new HR head, is understood to have conceptualised the leadership training programme. A TCS spokesperson declined to comment.

"We are looking at some extremely focused leadership training programmes for a set of people in the age range of 35 to 43. This is a vital initiative and there are exciting roles that people are going to play for a very long time," S Ramadorai, MD and CEO of TCS had recently said in an interview in the group’s website.

The new exercise will bring about opportunities for many middle to senior level executives who are now struggling to find their feet in a large oraganisation like TCS, according to analysts.“Middle level management people were stagnating at TCS. This must be one of the reasons for the company to introduce the leadership programmes," said a Mumbai-based analyst working with a global consultancy firm.

TCS, which is battling a decline in large outsourcing orders due to the economic slowdown in the US, has implemented a major operational revamp. Operations of the company are now divided into the industry solutions group, major market group, new growth markets group, strategic initiative group and organisation infrastructure group. The new verticals will be headed by a director each.

Earlier last year, software major Infosys had undertaken a similar restructuring exercise. The company broadened its senior management team and reorganised its business units. Two months ago, Wipro, too, reorganised its business heads