Mphasis CEO hopes the firm's decentralised leadership style stays

Mphasis CEO Ganesh Ayyar has said he will work to ensure that the company's decentralized leadership style survives after its buyout by Blackstone as it represents "part of the soul" of the IT firm.
The Bengaluru-based firm had last year begun a reorganization programme focused on making itself more nimble, a process Ayyar had likened to creating a "chemical change in the company".
Earlier this month, private equity firm Blackstone said it would buy Mphasis in a deal that could be worth over $1 billion. This raised questions on continuance of Mphasis' management model since PE funds are known to centralise decision-making in their portfolio companies.
"We are preparing ourselves for the change. Sometimes people can become change resistant. But some of the things we will work to retain are to continue to push the boundaries of empowerment and acceleration and to build this company around specialisation," Ayyar told ET in an interview.

As part of its management rejig, Mphasis had identified 17 executives in the rung below its ten-member executive committee and empowered them to take decisions without higher-level approval.
Analysts have said that flatter decision-making structures will be part of how IT firms weather the move to more digital services and offerings. Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka is also experimenting with reducing the amount of people involved in decision-making in some parts of the business, ET had earlier reported.
Ayyar said that Mphasis has not yet had a discussion with Blackstone on its management structure but said it will do so once the deal moves closer to completion. "Mphasis and Blackstone have a common objective. There may be different approaches to the objective. Just because an approach is different does not make it bad," Ayyar said.

He said that it is the company's responsibility to ensure a good "onboarding" process for Blackstone.
Ayyar, who was in Mumbai earlier this week to talk to investors following the sale, said, questions from the other shareholders centered around whether the company would maintain its detail in reporting results. He said investors were also excited about the potential partnership opportunities with Blackstone portfolio companies.
Blackstone has said it will open its portfolio of nearly 80 companies, which have about $90 billion in aggregate revenue.
"These would be arm's-length transactions. That is what I would want. We would have to compete against their incumbent providers, offer a better solution and win. Only if all else is equal, would I think that we would have an edge, to keep it in the family," Ayyar said.
He said that Mphasis will first go into the portfolio companies with its horizontal services, though it is yet to identify any targets.