Manoj Agarwal

🚨 Governance Under Pressure .............. Triple Exit of Independent Directors at PTC India Financial Services 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 In a rare and concerning development, three independent directors :Seema Bahuguna, Naveen Bhushan Gupta, and PV Bharathi, resigned from the board of PTC India Financial Services (PFS) with immediate effect In their resignation letters (filed with BSE and NSE), all three pointed to an “environment that made it difficult to act independently and uphold governance standards.” This comes despite their collective efforts since 2022 to: 👉Recruit a new MD & CEO 👉Fill long-vacant leadership roles 👉Strengthen internal controls and SOPs 👉Address long-pending audit and compliance issues 👉Restore regulatory confidence 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 Board Impact: The exit of all three IDs creates a governance vacuum at a time when the company was just regaining stability. Market Reaction: The news triggered heightened investor scrutiny. CNBC-TV18 reported concerns about the stock price trajectory and institutional confidence. Disclosure: The company has stated that the directors cited only the stated reasons and no other material factors. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 ❌Governance Risk: Such coordinated exits signal deep-rooted concerns, raising red flags for shareholders, regulators, and rating agencies. ❌Reputation: Trust in board independence and transparency has taken a hit. ❌Regulatory Oversight: SEBI and RBI may increase scrutiny given the systemic importance of financial services entities. ❌Investor Confidence: This could affect access to capital markets and borrowing terms. 🔑 Five Key Questions 1. What specific incidents in recent months led to such a breakdown in board functioning? 2. How robust is the succession plan to quickly fill the independent director roles as per SEBI’s Listing Regulations? 3. What mechanisms failed to protect board independence despite strengthened policies and SOPs? 4. Will regulators (SEBI, RBI) step in to assess whether governance lapses compromise investor interests? 5. How will PFS rebuild trust among stakeholders — especially institutional investors and credit rating agencies? 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 CNBC-TV18 (2025, September 28) PTC India Financial Services Ltd. (2025, September 28). BSE/NSE Filing: Resignation of Independent Directors. [Company filing]

16

2 Comments

Grateful to have been part of the IOD Mumbai Conclave 2025, speaking on “Transformative Technologies and Financial Governance: The Expanding Role of Independent Directors.” It was a truly insightful discussion with fellow leaders on how technology is reshaping the role of boards — from financial oversight to strategic foresight My key takeaways: 1. Tech fluency is now board fluency — directors must understand the governance implications of AI, data, and cyber. At Datamatics, we actively build this mindset into our digital transformation programs and client engagements. 2. Innovation with accountability — the need to experiment boldly but govern responsibly. This balance underpins our approach to responsible AI and automation. 3. Cyber resilience = financial resilience — strengthening data governance and security is integral to business and stakeholder trust. 4. Think global, act local — aligning with global standards like OECD and ISSB while adapting to regional realities, something we constantly practice across our transformation initiatives.. A big thank you to the Institute of Directors (IOD), India in MUMBAI for organizing this timely session, @Priti R for being a kind host, Dr Suresh A Shan for moderating the session with thought-provoking questions and sharing some interesting case studies, and to my fellow panelists Nikita and BIPLAB for their valuable insights. The future of governance is digital — and it’s exciting to see organizations, including ours at Datamatics, driving this shift with purpose and integrity. #IOD #Leadership #Governance #DigitalTransformation #AI #CyberResilience #BoardroomExcellence #Datamatics

222

27 Comments

Indian IT Industry at an Inflection Point: Time for a Reboot? Indian IT industry faces a critical inflection point as FY2026 signals another year of muted growth. Is it time for a bold reset in business models, talent strategy, and innovation to stay competitive in a fast-evolving tech landscape? Shared my views on state of industry, some challenges and also way ahead .. https://lnkd.in/gn7wuk4Z

295

44 Comments

My insights on Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India have been featured in a recent article by The Hindu BusinessLine. The piece highlights how tighter IT budgets are driving companies to move critical tech processes to GCCs, which are increasingly becoming strategic drivers of innovation for companies across industries. Read the full article here and share your thoughts👇

112

5 Comments

Domo 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚. Domo launches on the AWS Asia-Pacific Region, Mumbai. For organizations across India and APAC, this means: ✅ Faster performance & ultra-low latency ✅ Full compliance with India’s data sovereignty regulations ✅ Secure local data storage and operations ✅ Access to Domo’s full-stack AI + Data Products platform This isn’t just a technical upgrade. It’s a strategic commitment to one of the fastest-growing data markets in the world. At GWC Data.AI, we’re proud to be a part of this journey. As Domo’s trusted innovation and AI partner, we’ve seen firsthand how Indian enterprises are accelerating transformation and this new data center unlocks a new level of possibility. As I shared in Domo’s official press release: “With a new data center in Mumbai, our clients can maintain security and compliance requirements while leveraging Domo's powerful platform to transform how they use data to drive business value.” The future of data + AI innovation in India just got a huge boost. Here’s to building value, speed and trust together. #Domo #GWCDataAI #AI #DataProducts #DataTransformation #AWS #India #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #DomoAI https://lnkd.in/g8aEDHgp Mark Boothe Ashfak Shaikh, PMP Paul Basterfield Peter Steggall Dave Scott Josh James Mark Green Subash Ramu Shashank Ravikumar Mamtha Shanmugam Pugazeanthi M Iain Congdon

20