‘The Dramatic Reprioritisation Of AI is Our Big Opportunity,’ Says Tech Mahindra’s New CEO & MD Mohit Joshi
Tech Mahindra CEO & MD Mohit Joshi on AI, growth, and the way ahead to grab every opportunity that comes its way. Joshi, who has a bachelor’s in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, joined Tech Mahindra in June 2023 as MD and took on the CEO’s role in December. The CEO & MD, who started his career as a banker with ANZ and ABN Amro, spent more than two decades at Infosys, before joining Tech Mahindra . In an exclusive interview with Business Today, the 50-year-old speaks on a host of issues, including what he will do to drive growth, what makes his company unique, and what he makes of AI. Edited excerpts:
What was your mandate when you took charge of Tech Mahindra?
Both the board and management were clear that it would not be prescriptive. There would be a lot of autonomy and they wanted a smooth transition from the outgoing CEO. While we are part of a large conglomerate, our performance must match up with the peer group.
How did you settle into the new role after a long stint at Infosys?
It was a six-month transition and flagged well in advance. The process of settling down was very easy because of the transition. Our clients could have had concerns, or the team may have exited in droves, or maybe we could have faced difficulty in attracting talent, or the stock [could have] just tanked. But CP (C.P. Gurnani, Joshi’s predecessor) and I built a great relationship. The team understood the transition and the investors have been positive. If any of this had gone wrong, it would have been a difficult situation. Plus, in this industry, transitions have been painful.
What is unique about the positioning of your company?
When you speak of growth, there are really three strands to our DNA. First was the joint venture with British Telecom that gave us deep expertise in telecom with respect to OSS (operations support system) and BSS (business support system). Then, there was the Satyam acquisition. It provided a rich consulting background and great infrastructure on training and learning, plus a presence in diverse industries like auto, financial services, and manufacturing. Finally, there is the part on the other buyouts we have made such as Perigord [Life Science Solutions], a leader in medical packaging; and Com Tec Co [IT], a digital engineering firm with a focus on financial services.
How do you view the geopolitical challenges and the potential implications on business?
It is unbelievable that we had the pandemic first, followed by wars. I think there is a tendency to look at near-term downsides. Let’s understand that this industry was sub-$1 billion [by revenue] 25 years [ago]… [it is] $250 billion now. Even the most conservative estimates suggest it will double at the very least in the next 10 years. There will be ups and downs, but we understand sectors deeply and run global-scale businesses. Our belief is [that] there is no reason for pessimism. Our Top 50 customers have been with us for a decade, and they take a long-term view.
What is it that you like about what you are seeing in your industry now?
The relevance of technology and IT services has never been higher in India, nor have we seen a larger talent pool. This is one industry that was told it would not survive Y2K, the global financial crisis and Covid-19. It was constantly written off. But over time, the focus on technology has only increased. There is more awareness with boards spending more time on it. India’s credibility is clearly established. Twenty years ago, it was about body shopping and today the relevance of the Indian model has increased. Apart from the Tatas, we are the only other player with other core businesses. Questions will always come up about the industry… [but] the long-term piece has been answered.
The centrality of technology to every industry is well-established. It is as important as what the internet did to every industry like retailers now getting to show a lot more of their product range. AI is a very big story and takes me to how banks adapted over time. In 2000, they spent 1% of their spend on technology and now, that is at 10%. With AI, it is not hard to imagine [the spend] being 50% 10 years from now. That dramatic reprioritisation is our opportunity.
We understand technology and how it applies in an enterprise context. Our role will be important, plus with software engineering and development historically, it has been like a bespoke card. The perception earlier was that there was a gigantic difference in skills between software developers but now as you start to use AI work benches, there will be an equalisation of capability.
How does one look at AI as that big opportunity?
For one, it is not an expense, and most clients intuitively understand how it will reshape the industry they are in. Besides, it is a time of great disruption. While it is impossible to understand the configuration 10 years from now, some things will be very clear. While AI and, say, VR will take off, there will be a need for people to understand an industry deeply as much as a need to train or the need for people to bridge that techno-functional gap, which is technical knowledge plus industry-specific knowledge. If we work on all three, we will be fine.
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