From the land of milk and honey to the small town of Puttaparthi in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh might seem an unlikely journey. But Jeya Kumar, who has worked in Australia, Singapore, Japan, Holland, the United Kingdom, Mexico and the United States, has a wish to retire and settle in the town that is the residence of spiritual teacher Sathya Sai Baba.
Jeya Kumar
CEO, Patni Computer Systems
Previous employer A brief stint with MphasiS in Bangalore; before that, Sun Microsystems in the US
Why I came back I wanted to run a company and that opportunity came with MphasiS. But, regardless of the opportunity, my plan was to retire and settle in India
If I was not in India I would have been in Singapore or Australia
High point in India My growing up in Singapore coincided with its growth era in the early 70s. Now I am a part of the India growth story. I started my career in a growth spurt and after almost 40 years I am getting a chance to do it again
Low point in India The lack of infrastructure. India's productivity can go up if there is good infrastructure
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Before he does that, though, Kumar has some unfinished business: as CEO of Patni Computer Systems, his mandate is to narrow the gap with Tier I IT services majors like Infosys, TCS and Wipro. He has the right credentials to take on that challenge.
Born and brought up in Singapore, Kumar had, till a couple of years ago, lived abroad all his life. An MBA from Australia's Curtin University, his biggest break came when he was put in charge of Sun Microsystems' $5-billion software services business at the headquarters in Santa Clara. Kumar stayed for 14 years at Sun before feeling the itch for a career - and perhaps even a country - change. In 2008, he was called in to take charge of MphasiS in Bangalore.
Eight months later, Narendra Patni, founder of Patni Computer, who was looking for a CEO with an Indian face and global experience, hired Kumar.
Kumar considers himself lucky to be at the right place at the right time. "When I was growing up in Singapore it was the growth era for Singapore in the early 1970s. Now I am in India and participating in its growth story. That is a unique experience."
He is enjoying the ride so far. "My plan is to be in India for a long time and therefore I have applied for PIO (Person of Indian Origin) status. My kids are all grown up and settled in Australia; but the long-term plan of my wife and I is to be in India."
