"INDIAN IT IS THE UNSHAKABLE BACKBONE OF GLOBAL ENTERPRISES IN AI ERA"

In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld's Rohit Chintapali, Hexaware Technologies CEO and Executive Director R. SRIKRISHNA discusses the company's shift to an AI-first model and the critical role of Indian IT in global business during tough market conditions. He also outlines a bold strategy for Hexaware to reach $3 billion in revenue by CY2029. Excerpts

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You've led Hexaware for 11 years through various cycles and ups and downs. When you first took charge, what was your original mandate, and how has it evolved over time with AI disruption?

I have to credit our then owners, Baring Private Equity, for not giving me a rigid mandate because if they had, I probably wouldn’t have joined. They simply wanted someone capable to lead. On day one, I set a simple, enduring mandate for Hexaware: to build a great company. That purpose still drives us today. Back then, we were seen as a PeopleSoft company—now, we've transformed into an AI-first organisation that does all the relevant things. We don’t do everything still - we're perhaps not big enough for it yet. But we do some things very well including software engineering, data and AI, and running technology. It’s been a fair bit of change almost on a continuous basis that we have had to do.

There’s growing scrutiny around the role of IT in the broader AI boom. Where does Indian IT stand in this shift, especially as margins become tighter and the pace of innovation accelerates?