What’s in a name? This clichéd question may be bothering the Mahindra Satyam-Tech Mahindra management and its 80,000 employees. After clearing last of the hurdles for the merger yesterday, it is the question of naming that.
After the considering several names for the merged entity, the Mahindras have reportedly zeroed in on three-four names.
Four names
Top in the list could be Mahindra IT and Tech Mahindra. A third with ‘Mahindra’ either as a prefix or a suffix could pop up. Either way, the name of Satyam, which has been synonymous with the IT industry in Andhra Pradesh, would finally go.
The new name would reflect the naming tradition in the Mahindra group. All of the $15-billion group companies has a suffix of Mahindra, followed by the second name that suggest the kind of business the particular entity does (such as Lifespaces, Financial Services, Forgings, Holidays etc). The group has interests in 18 broad business areas.
“In the IT business too, the group wants to reflect the family name of Mahindras, bringing uniformity in the branding. It is likely to settle for Mahindra IT for its IT business,” a source said.
Early this year, the management had conducted a massive poll, seeking the opinion of 80,000 employees of the two companies on the issue of naming. Besides Mahindra IT, the other names considered were Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Infosystems, and Mahindra Consulting Services.
Talking to reporters after announcing the numbers for the last quarter, C.P. Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer designate of the combined entity, said the company awaited the poll result on the issue of naming.
The registered name of the company might not have ‘Satyam’ in it. But the company has decided to continue the Satyam legacy by continuing the branding for its IT business, while continuing the telecom business under the Tech Mahindra brand. “We are going to retain the independent identities of the two businesses as they carved out a niche for them over decades,” he said.
AGM next month
Mahindra Satyam will hold its last AGM on July 31. The company had already indicated that it is going to shift its headquarters to Mumbai.