New Satyam CEO A S Murthy solicits staff help to tide over crisis

In his first email to the employees after taking charge as the chief executive officer of beleagured Satyam Computer Services, A S Murthy exhorted them to stay calm and help the new board steer the company away from the tidal waves. He called for a united approach to save the company.

Murthy's appointment as the new CEO of beleagured Satyam Computer  has brought in a sigh of relief among staff as he is  a veteran with about 15 years experience in the company as its global delivery head. His appointment will help Satyam tide over the difficult times in the aftemath of the Raju confession, and help regain customer confidence, say anlysts.

Murthy, being an  insider, is well versed in the day-to-day operations of Satyam, said people familiar with the company. They see the reemergence of Satyam as a major IT player under the leadership of Murthy.

Earlier, corporate affairs minister Prem Chand Gupta said that the new CEO is capable officer with extesive experience.

Others, however, believe that Muthy's appointment alone will not solve all Satyam's problems. There is still no clarity on the sale of the company, and according to some media reports, some orders booked some time back are still pending. In this backdrop, customer confidence has to be restored. iGate, which had evinced interest in Satyam  recently said that it is no longer interested in taking over some of Satyam's operations, because of the delay in deciding on the company's future.

Till the valuation is over, the company canot be put for sale. There are many suitors for Satyam, the foremost among being Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra. But all of them have to wait till the books are put in order and the legal issues pertaining to the stashed funds have been cleared.