BENGALURU: Former vice chairman of Tech Mahindra Vineet Nayyar, 85, passed away on Thursday.
A civil servant turned corporate professional; he was one of the doyens of the Indian tech industry. He worked with the World Bank and then went on to serve state-owned energy corporation GAIL as its inaugural chairman and MD.
He later joined HCL Corporation as its MD and became vice chairman of HCL Technologies.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, wrote on X, "Vineet was a larger than life figure in the Indian Business landscape. A distinguished IAS officer, who then served with the World Bank, he became the first Chairman of GAIL. He then made a hugely successful transition to the private sector becoming the Managing Director of HCL Corporation Ltd., and the Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies Ltd."
"And it was from there that he and two of his close colleagues journeyed to Mahindra British Telecom. We called them the Three Musketeers," he said.
Mahindra also mentioned Nayyar's significant role in the acquisition of Satyam, a deal spearheaded by him.
IT industry body Nasscom said, "His visionary leadership and dedication have left an indelible mark on the industry."
A few months ago, former MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra CP Gurnani in his LinkedIn post shared some of his fond memories and learnings of working with Nayyar.
He said, "Vineet taught me how one could make difficult decisions with clarity and grace. The acquisition of Satyam is the biggest example. And then, there are the multiple joint ventures. I learnt that fearless, right decision-making not only helped set a good precedence, but gave an extra shot of confidence to every member on the team."
He added, "His ability to manage stress was phenomenal. During the Satyam days, it was his resilience and calmness that kept us going. In the bleakest of moments he would debate, discuss and then finally assure us with the four words : This too shall pass."