Mindtree Execs Resign, Say Hostile Takeover Is 'Value-Destructive'

Discontentment continues at Mindtree, the global IT technology consulting and services company, with the recent resignations of Rostow Ravanan, chief executive officer and managing director; Krishnakumar Natarajan, chairman; and Parthasarathy N.S., executive vice chairman. The three executives submitted their resignations as members of the Mindtree board of directors and as company employees.

They will remain board members and employees until July 17.

“Mindtree has delivered exceptional performance for all our stakeholders over the last two decades through our differentiated strategy and unique culture. We are grateful to all our customers, “Mindtree Minds” and external stakeholders for their steadfast support throughout our journey, Natarajan said in a press release. “We wish the new leadership team at Mindtree the very best.”

The resignations come just days after Larsen & Toubro Ltd., a multinational conglomerate, headquartered in India, acquired a controlling stake in the company, according to Livemint. Mindtree is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and New Jersey.

In March, company promoters Natarajan, co-founder Subroto Bagchi, Ravanan and Parthasarathy N.S. issued a statement condemning the reported takeover bid by Larsen & Toubro, calling the move “a grave threat” to the 20-year old firm with 20,000 employees, referred to as Mindtree Minds.

Former Mindtree board members Rostow Ravanan, Krishnakumar Natarajan and Parthasarathy N.S.

“A hostile takeover by Larsen & Toubro, unprecedented in our industry, could undo all of the progress we’ve made and immensely set our organization back. We don’t see any strategic advantage in the transaction and strongly believe that the transaction will be value-destructive for all shareholders. Our collective success depends on building and nurturing relationships with our clients and partners. This unexplainable transaction will bring disruption to those relationships and impair Mindtree’s ability to differentiate itself in the market and continue to deliver client value and great shareholder return. We believe that culture needs to be carefully created and nurtured over time and can’t be bought and sold like any asset,” the statement read.

“We remain 100 percent committed to our long-term vision of building an independent company. We believe it’s in the best interests of our shareholders, Mindtree Minds, and our organization overall to continue opposing this takeover attempt. In addition, there has been a large outpouring of sentiment from Mindtree Minds online at #MindtreeMatters expressing their strong desire to retain our culture and our independence. In the meantime, while this situation unfolds, Mindtree will continue to be laser focused on continuing the stellar work for our clients and delivering great value to them.”

In a statement emailed to Livemint, Larsen &Toubro reportedly will allow Mindtree to operate as a separate entity and will focus on maintaining continuity as management transitions.

Expect to see the company announce a new leadership team in the near future.