MUMBAI: NASSCOM, the chamber of commerce of the IT software and services industry in India has appointed Som Mittal as the successor to Kiran Karnik, as President, NASSCOM.
Mittal will assume the office of the President from January, 2008. He is presently the head of services business of Hewlett-Packard for Asia-Pacific and Japan region.
NASSCOM, Ex-chairman Harish Mehta, who also headed the search committee for this role, stated, “This is a challenging assignment, with NASSCOM playing a vital role in sustaining the growth of India‘s IT industry. The search committee, which comprised of past Chairmen of NASSCOM, the present Chairman and the President, was looking for an outstanding individual to take up this key leadership role. I am pleased that, in Mr. Mittal, we have such a person”.
NASSCOM chairman Lakshmi Narayanan and vice chairman, Board of Directors, cognizant said, “Mr. Mittal has been responsible for the services operations in Asia-Pacific and Japan of the largest IT company in the world. His extensive experience in the IT industry, in addition to his previous work in other sectors, brings a unique blend of industry-specific knowledge as also broader global perspective. He has been Chairman of NASSCOM (2003-04) and this has provided him direct insight into the functioning of the Secretariat and the overall industry and also a strong relationship with the industry leaders that will be invaluable to NASSCOM. His particular insights into BPO and Remote Infrastructure services area will be of great value as the industry innovates to sustain its global leadership against competition from other nations”.
Speaking on his appointment, Mittal said, “I am honored to take up this role as President of NASSCOM at this exciting stage of the industry’s lifecycle when the Indian IT/ITeS sector has established its position in the global landscape and is continuously defining newer benchmarks. There is a very high benchmark of this role as well and I look forward to continuing the excellent work that Mr. Kiran Karnik and Mr. Dewang Mehta have done for this industry, across all areas – the industry, customers, with the media, Governments and all other stakeholders. I look forward to leading team-NASSCOM in these interesting times, to enable both continuity and change to happen”, he added.
