15 Jan 2009
HYDERABAD: Satyam's former interim CEO Ram Mynampati is not the only one to quietly go abroad. Two other senior staffers of Satyam are also currently out of India.
While senior vice president and director Virendra Agarwal has gone to Singapore, another senior VP and director Keshub Panda has pushed off to London. Mynampati, now in the US, is an American citizen. Most of his immediate family members also have US passports.
Satyam insiders claim that all three executives have journeyed overseas to reassure clients and make collections for bills due.
"But the possibility of their travelling overseas to avoid questioning by the police and other regulatory bodies cannot be discounted," a senior Satyam staffer admitted. He felt that the chances of Mynampati ever returning are very remote.
It is learnt that the three decided to go abroad on January 9. Satyam insiders claimed that letters to clients were dispatched after Ramalinga Raju quit.
The letters counselled the clients to bear with the situation in Satyam and generally sought their support.
"Between January 7 and 9 phone calls were made to clients. But making phone calls is one thing and interacting in person is quite another. In fact, some clients wanted presentations from the company in person. So it was decided that they would go and physically meet them," a senior Satyam staffer said.
For Satyam, 62% of all business comes from the US where Ram Mynampati will have to meet scores of clients. Europe contributes over 20% of the business and Keshub Panda looks after this region. Virendra Agarwal looks after Asia Pacific/Africa/Middle East markets which account for over 15% of Satyam's business.
Meanwhile, senior staffers of Satyam who had said that they were happy after hearing of government-appointed directors have now changed their status message to "feeling less unhappy" compared to their state after Raju left. These staffers confessed that there was still a vacuum in the company. "With the appointment of new directors, there is at least a cheque-signing authority in the company but without a full-time CEO, there is no day to day decision-making authority," a senior manager admitted.
"Maybe the government will step in and provide some liquidity for the time being. But if clients and investors do not feel comforted, then there is very little chance of the company being able to stand on its feet," a senior Satyam staffer said.
The fact that the entire top level leadership of Satyam is under a cloud has added to the sense of disquiet among staffers.
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