The hunt for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Infopark Kochi is set to begin shortly, as the present incumbent, Hrishikesh Nair, will step down by the end of this month after a three year-stint.
Mr. Nair, who was originally appointed for two years, had expressed willingness to quit when his term ended last July. However, he stayed on at the instance of then Information Technology Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
He resigned in April well before the Assembly election, and his two-month notice period is set to expire on June 30. “I had for long wished to return to core IT and have been offered the post of vice president of an IT company. My resignation has nothing to do with the change in government,” Mr. Nair told The Hindu .
In fact, he had recently met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also holds the IT portfolio, and made a detailed presentation on the growth of Infopark.
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When Mr. Nair took charge as CEO, Infopark had a built-up area of 30 lakh sq.ft, which doubled in the last three years. The number of companies at the facility also rose from 146 to 220 with a corresponding growth in jobs from 17,000 to 27,500.
“Software exports have grown by 30 to 35 per cent year-on-year. From around 2,000 crore, exports increased to 3,150 crore during 2014-15, and by March 2015-16, it surpassed 3,500 crore,” Mr. Nair said. He, however, cited the progress made in the second phase of the Infopark project as the most gratifying achievement during his tenure.
The entire 160 acres (except for around 35 acres entangled in a legal issue) earmarked for the second phase of the project have been assigned to around 10 co-developers. Cognizant has already started operations in its 7 lakh sq.ft building.
During Hrishikesh Nair’s tenure, the number of companies at the facility rose from 146 to 220 with a corresponding growth in jobs from 17,000 to 27,500
