Matthew Vallance is stepping down as MD and CEO of offshore BPO pure play Firstsource, and will be replaced by its current deputy MD and CFO Rajesh Subramaniam. Vallance will then consult Firstsource in an advisory capacity.
Vallance is one of the few UK nationals we can call to mind who has headed up an India-based IT/BP player. He has been at Firstsource for 10 years having joined Firstsource in 2002 through the acquisition of UK-based BPO player Customer Asset. He then took on roles across Firstsource's financial services, telecom and media businesses before becoming joint MD in January 2010 and then making it to MD and CEO in July 2010. Vallance's experience running the show at Firstsource will undoubtedly be attractive in the broader UK SITS market.
Firstsource meanwhile has challenges across multiple fronts. It is being overtaken by offshore rivals like EXL Service, Genpact and WNS (see Firstsource takes further hit on margins), which are moving faster to build resilience into their businesses and derive new growth opportunities through platform-based BPS investments. Firstsource is still very much an old-era lift-and-shift BPO player, and here margins are under ever increasing pressure. As CEO, Subramaniam will need to respond swiftly to these threats.
