HYDERABAD: Having founded Techwave in 2004 in Houston, Texas, Damodar Gummadapu returned to Hyderabad in 2012 to start the company’s offshore operations here. The IT solutions company which recently turned 18, is all set to expand further riding the wave of the tech boom in Telangana. Damodar also shares his love for life and work in Hyderabad
Damodar Gummadapu, founder and chairman of Techwave, has nurtured his global IT solutions and engineering services company in a quiet and steady manner, much like his own persona. Born to farmer parents in the village of Cherumadharam in the Khammam district, Damodar pursued his education in government schools in Suryapet and Hyderabad, RG Kedia College of Commerce, Chaderghat, before completing his Management accountancy (CWA) and Chartered Accountancy (CA). It was during his tenure as a Finance Manager at GVK Power that Damodar first began to explore the boundless potential of marrying finance and IT. In 1998, Damodar set off for the United States, where he began working as an SAP finance consultant at KPMG. “That’s when life started rolling.
I got married. I had joined KPMG in the US where large companies were seeking integration of SAP and ERP implementations. I spotted a gap and a business opportunity,” says Damodar smiling. He knew it was time to branch out on his own. Thus, in 2004, along with his wife Vanaja and brother Raj Gummadapu, Damodar started Techwave. The name, fittingly chosen by his wife, embodied the company’s steadfast commitment to successful delivery. With Houston, the home base of one of their largest clients, Sysco Foods, as the natural choice for their head office, Techwave quickly established a reputation for excellence among a prestigious roster of clients that includes Johnson & Johnson, Westcon, Visa, AT&T, Schnider Electric, Metro and Philips. Currently, the company has at least a dozen clients which figure in the Fortune 500 list. “We’ve never lost a customer since 2004,”says Damodar stressing on the level of trust Techwave has built over the years.
With offices in Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, US, UK, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Australia apart from India, Techwave has 3,000 employees, 2,200 of whom are in Hyderabad, Khammam and Warangal. In 2012, Damodar and his wife decided to move back to Hyderabad, which they’ve always considered home, with their daughters Yuktha and Yaksha. “Our clients were asking me to help with their offshore operations and Hyderabad is the best place I could think of to locate our India office,” he says. Damodar is gung ho about Hyderabad’s eco-system for the IT industry, especially startups. “Apart from the availability of infra, facilities and employable candidates, there are immense possibilities to expand because of the TS government’s policies,” enthuses Damodar.
The IT leader says that the company aims to ramp up its number of employee strength to 8,000 by 2025, of which in 6,000 jobs will be in Telangana alone given the positive trend. The Techwave founder, who travels 15 days every month, says that he loves watching movies in theatres in his free time. “I am a huge foodie as well. So my family is always looking out for new restaurants to visit where we can relax and enjoy all kinds of cuisine. It is my younger one Yaksha who guides me in this regard,” Damodar says with a soft smile that lights up his face while referring to his daughters. While Yaksha is pursuing a mass media degree, Yuktha is a doctor who is studying to be a surgeon, reveals Damodar with pride, shrugging off the question if they will join the family firm. Once or twice a month, on weekends, Damodar who is a avid biker, zooms off with a set of friends ranging from doctors to CEOs to Shankerpally or Srisailam on his Triumph Rocket 3.
With an engine capacity of 2,500 CC, this is not a machine for the faint of heart. “Safety and co-ordination among the group of bikers is really important and we follow all rules of safety,” says Damodar. Sitting in his office chamber, looking every inch the moored chairman, it is difficult to visualise him zipping off on a superbike at a speed of 120km/hr. Sensing the look, Damodar laughs saying, “Motorbike rides are a passion and a major stressbuster.
We set out early at 6 am or so. After a long ride, we stop at a roadside eatery, usually something in the open, for some dosas or keema dosas and the day feels so right.”What also feels right is Damodar’s easy camaraderie with his employees. Many continue with their tasks as he strolls past instead of jumping out of their seats as juniors often do when the company’s Founder is around. Attrition rates in Techwave are said to be the lowest in the industry.
Damodar says that the company’s open door policy has helped hugely. Employees are provided with opportunities to upskill themselves and grow. Tech is constantly changing and we ensure our people are skilled to meet the challenges,” he says. In their offices across the world, be it in Houston. Melbourne, Budapest, London, Dusseldorf, or Eindhoven, Damodar says that Techwave always goes the extra mile to hire locals and integrate itself with the culture of the country. Asked what he considers the best part about Techwave, Damodar says without blinking: “Transparency and constant interactions, be it with customers or employees.”