It was early this year that WNS Group got itself a brand new CEO, someone who has a solid track record of making a success of businesses he handles. For 46-year-old Keshav R Murugesh joining the WNS team was to recreate and refresh himself as CEO.

He had already worked at Syntel, another BPO, as a chief and had delivered more than expected results. Talking about it he says, "My team and I had delivered the highest revenue, profit and global head count in the history of that Company (Syntel) just before I left for WNS," he says.

So, what attracted him to WNS Global Services? It is the opportunity to create a new set of directions for this well established brand name in the BPO industry. "The fact that WNS was a pioneer in the field, had a well established brand, had a great set of people and clients and needed someone to introduce strategic orientation and performance orientation while focusing on growth was very attractive for me. It meant I had the opportunity to do this at two Companies in my lifetime while most people don't get even one opportunity to be part of a turnaround and growth story all through their lives. These kinds of challenges have always excited me," he adds.

For Murugesh the next phase of growth for WNS will come from domain specialization and client centric approach. He has already begun by pulling in his teams together to create 'razor sharp sales focus' and leverage the talent pool within the organization and global delivery centers to "build a high growth BPO company which will lead the industry in chosen areas." He is also eying new business areas to build presence in.

It is clear from his response that Murugesh plans to take the company to the next level of growth through careful, meticulous planning so that he and his team do not take a false step.

Not only is he careful about the businesses that the company will get involved in, but will also choose the clients carefully. He is clear about the fact that if a client is not ready to take innovative approach, and is looking for run of the mill services then WNS is not the one to partner with.

He wants to attract clients by taking a very flexible, customized route for the clients so that he is happy delivering, and they are happy accepting great set of services.

Murugesh, who trained to become a chartered accountant, started his career in finance and held several senior management posts at ITC limited in the areas of Treasury, Corporate funds, Investments & Diversification Planning, Financial Services between the years 1989 to 2001.

This is where he honed his skills on diversification strategies, joint ventures and global finance. He used this skill by working on several cross-border efforts as well as helped acquire two International IT companies, while at ITC Infotech.

From there he moved to Syntel and served as COO, President and CFO before being made CEO of the company. He became Chief Operating Officer in October' 2004, President and COO in December' 2006 and Chief Executive Officer in February' 2009. Under Murugesh, the revenues of Syntel grew from $185 million to $410 million, global employee base from 4000 persons to more than 13,500 and market capitalization from $450 million to approx $ 1.7 billion.

Now at WNS, Murugesh is determined to increase the company's top line growth, customer focus, operational and financial metrics, and driving innovation across the enterprise

"Our core area of investment now is in sales and new verticalsWe are separating hunting from farming on the sales side and introducing a robust client partner program globally