- Ashok Soota, often hailed as the magic man of the IT industry, took over as CEO of Shriram Refrigeration in 1978, a company that had been posting losses for four consecutive years. Under his leadership, it achieved its first profit in five years. However, his most significant role came six years later. 👇
- In 1984, he became the president of Wipro’s IT division, Wipro Infotech, and over the next 15 years, grew its revenue from ₹22 crore to ₹2,200 crore, making it India’s largest minicomputer company. Even Intel’s then-CEO, Andy Grove, sent him a letter of appreciation. But Ashok had other ambitions. 🤔
- In August 1999, he co-founded Mindtree with nine other IT professionals and built it to a revenue of ₹455.37 crore within six years. In February 2007, he took the company public with an IPO worth ₹237.72 crore, which was oversubscribed 110 times. Ashok had achieved great success, but challenges soon followed. 👇
- Mindtree faced stagnating revenues, missed growth targets, and internal disagreements about M&A strategies, leading to Ashok’s resignation on 28th January 2011. Even after 33 years of an illustrious career, at the age of 69, Ashok was contemplating his next move. 🤔
- His next goal was to create a company that put happiness at the forefront for both employees and customers. Just one month after resigning, he took the plunge and, with nine others, founded Happiest Minds Technologies in April 2011. 🚀
- Ashok’s vision was clear ⏩ to establish a mindful IT company specializing in emerging technologies like cloud computing, social media, mobility, analytics, and security. Targeting industries such as travel, media, manufacturing, CPG, BFSI, and retail, the company officially launched on 29th August 2011. 💼
- Within three months, Happiest Minds had customers from the US, UK, and India, and it established five offices across Bangalore (India), New Jersey (US), and Reading (UK). On 16th November 2011, the company raised ₹228 crore in funding led by Cannan Partners and Intel Capital. 💰
- While competition existed, no one focused on “connected IT.” Ashok adopted a “Born Digital” strategy, combining AI, IoT, and analytics with conventional IT services. Strategic global partnerships with MongoDB (September 2014) and Mastercard (December 2014) further propelled the company’s success. ✅
- By 2018, Happiest Minds had grown to ₹460.23 crore in revenue and was serving 38 Fortune Global 2000 companies. In September 2020, it made headlines with its ₹702 crore IPO, oversubscribed by 151 times. With a listing premium of 111.4%, it became one of the most successful IPOs of the year. 💪
- Today, Happiest Minds generates ₹1,710.03 crore in annual revenues, serving 61 billion-dollar and 48 million-dollar companies across the US, UK, India, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East. The company is now valued at ₹12,276 crore. 🙌
➡️ Despite winning over 100 awards for his contributions, Ashok Soota is also recognized for his philanthropic work, including his donation of ₹375 crore towards India’s largest private-sector medical research initiative on Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. 🙏