Company: i-flex solutions limited, Mumbai, India
Company Division/Group: i-flex solutions
Company Description: i-flex is India's first globally successful software firm. i-flex has concieved and sold FLEXCUBE, a banking software to 240 banks in 100 countries . With 7000 employees spread across 3 subs in Singapore, NYC and Amsterdam i-flex is the epitome of innovation and has won many awards and accolades in Asia
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Chairman

Nomination Title: Rajesh Hukku, Chairman & Managing Director

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Best Chairman Award

Rajesh Hukku is Chairman and Managing Director of i-flex solutions. Since taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer in 1992, Rajesh Hukku has led the transformation of i-flex solutions, from a player primarily in the emerging markets, into India's first global software product company. Today, with revenues of over US$ 261.5 million and more than 600 customers in over 120 countries, i-flex solutions is one of India's Top 10 software companies, and the only one to have placed itself on the global map with a 'Made in
India' brand.

Vision : To dream and create a team to follow the dream is the leader's role. Rajesh envisioned i-flex to be the first Indian software firm to build a "Made in India" product and make it a global success. While there are more than 2000 IT firms in India providing software developers with a same value proposition, i-flex chose to build a firm with three differentiators.

Global Business Model
� Mitigate risk, create Global presence & Build a global delivery model

Domain Expertise
� Focus only  financial services, Invest in domain expertise and intellectual property & Leverage business understanding to add value

Customer Focus
� Mission, Strategy & Behavior driven by customer satisfaction

Obstacles faced
While Indian IT industry was thriving on Outsourcing where the value proposition was cheap labour, No one, particularly Western company would buy a software product from an Indian company. Indians were known for developing code but not innovation.

Global travel and brand building limitations
To sell to European and American banks and to be seen as a brand with some recognition calls for deep dollars. But i-flex cleverly build a trackrecord in Africa, Middle East and Far East in a cost-effective manner and then entered the Advanced markets.

Results:
i-flex is one of Asia's few companies which has customer presence in 120 countries. Averaging a growth of 40 percent and an acknowledged thought leader in the Banking financial services industry. Won recognition and numerous awards in Asia

Focus on High-End and Quality.
i-flex was the first commercial software firm to get SEI-CMM level 4 certification. Also i-flex may be the only firm that refused to do any Y2K related work while the Indian Industry rode on the Y2K wave. i-flex clearly chose to be a player which solves mission-critical problems for Banking and Financial institutions and command a leadership position.

Customers � From 12 in 1993 to 600  in 2005
Customer Countries � From 7 countries to 120
Revenue � 7million USD to 261.5 million USD
Profits-  0.25 million to 46.5 million
Staff � 250 people to 7000.
Capital � US 1million to 2.0 billion
Brand � Low visibility to a globally acknowledged brand

Unique achievements
TIME Magazine recognized Hukku as a Tech Guru that survived the meltdown. Economist Magazine profiled i-flex as "Techno-Coolies no more" on its story on innovation.

Biggest Outcome - role model for Indian IT
Today, i-flex is leading the way with an Innovation club initiated by NASSCOM to share i-flex experience in concieving,selling and marketing products globally. Rajesh's evangelical zeal in championing India as a hotbed for product innovation is now spawning many companies to explore niche and specialised products.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, http://www.youraddress.com:

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11526

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11409

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11370

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11382

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11361

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11508

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11514

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11518

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/PressRelease_Details.aspx?PressRel_id=11524

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/MediaDetails.aspx?PressRel_id=274

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/MediaDetails.aspx?PressRel_id=11449

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/MediaDetails.aspx?PressRel_id=343

http://www.iflexsolutions.com/iflex/media/MediaDetails.aspx?PressRel_id=257

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

Rajesh Hukku is Chairman and Managing Director of i-flex solutions. Since 1992, he has led the transformation of i-flex solutions, from a player primarily in the emerging markets, into India's first global software product company. 
 
For his role in scripting India's first global software product success story, he was conferred the prestigious Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2002' in the Information Technology, Communications and Entertainment category. Hukku is the recipient of the Government of India's most prestigious IT award - 'The Dewang Mehta award for Innovation in IT'. He also received the 2004 Global Entrepolis Award, an honor bestowed on Asia's emerging technopreneur. More recently, for his contribution to IT transformation in Chile, he was conferred the 'Order Bernardo O Higgins - Great Official' - the highest civilian honor conferred on a foreign national by the Chilean Government.