Tata Communications said its Managing Director (MD) and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vinod Kumar has resigned for ‘personal reasons’ and the telecom company’s board has initiated plans to find a successor.
“Vinod Kumar has submitted his resignation as the Managing Director & Group CEO of the Company, and as a Director of the Company and its associated companies for personal reasons,” the Tata Group company in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
“The Board has initiated steps to identify his successor and expects to finalise a suitable candidate at the earliest,” the telecom unit added.
The company’s stock ended 1% lower at Rs 474.75 on the BSE Tuesday. The announcement came after market hours.
Kumar has been working with Tata Comm for slightly more than 15 years and joined the telecom unit in 2004. “The Board of directors has taken on record his resignation, and his resignation will be effective from the close of business hours on 5 July, 2019,” the regulatory filing stated.
Kumar (54) leaves at a time when the telecom company, which focusses on serving enterprise customers, has seen its losses in widening in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March. The company’s losses widened to Rs 198.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, from Rs 120.9 crore when compared on a like to like basis.
“PAT (profit after tax) loss for the quarter was at Rs 198.8 crore due to equity loss pick up in STT, Singapore data centre business to the tune of Rs 173 crore,” the company said in its earnings statement. However for the full year ended March, the losses narrowed to Rs 82.37 crore compared to Rs 328.6 crore in the previous year.
The company has been focusing on offering digital infrastructure services and remain asset light. Last month, Tata Comm’s data centre arm sold its entire 26% stake in the Singapore unit to ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) for an undisclosed amount to become an asset light telecom company.
Tata Communications tried to strengthen its enterprise business by trying to merge group company Tata Teleservices’ enterprise business, but that too didn’t materialise.
