Dear Madame Aruna Jayanthi,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
I am very happy to be here with you all today.
Today, we have gathered to honour a great lady, whose personality and career are truly outstanding.
Dear Madame Jayanthi, you are undoubtedly one of the most influential businesswomen in this country today, and I am not alone in saying this – I am in the august company of your peers and fellow industrialists and reputed members of the Indian economic press.
I am therefore particularly proud that you have chosen to use your talents to serve a major French multinational, CapGemini.
Madame Jayanthi you graduated from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai. It was therefore natural that you then joined the world of business and commerce, first working for Ernst and Young, then Hexaware, and later Tata Consultancy Services.
But the real turning point in your career came when you joined CapGemini in 2000, where you charted an impressively rapid ascension to the highest level. You held numerous posts before being appointed Global Delivery Officer for Outsourcing from 2007 to 2011, then CEO of CapGemini India from 2011 to 2016, and finally Global BPO Head (Business Process Outsourcing) for the entire group worldwide. You joined the very select number of top managers of the Group Executive Committee of this multinational company, whose links to India have always been very strong.
CapGemini is, indeed, a major player in the Indian business landscape. It is the largest French company in India in terms of skilled employees, exceeding 1 lakh, and is present in all major Indian cities.
Its President, Paul Hermelin, is great figure here, both in his capacity as head of the CapGemini group and due to his personal commitment to the development of our economic relationships. As many of you may know, Mr Hermelin is in charge of Indian affairs for the MEDEF, the French federation of entrepreneurs. He is the Special Representative of France for Economic Relations with India. I must congratulate him for his flair for identifying and nurturing exceptional business talents like yours in the company.
During your years at the head of CapGemini India, you built the company to the stature it has acquired today: one of India’s IT giants. You have been instrumental in nearly doubling the number of skilled workers, supporting or more often anticipating the evolution of this sector in the demanding framework of Digital India.
This remains so in your current responsibilities, too, where you have skillfully created a bridge between BPO activity and IT platforms, to anticipate and prepare for the Business Service of tomorrow. Your formula “Good bye BPO, Hello Business Service” has generated enormous interest among watchers all over the globe.
These talents and this vision are appreciated by your peers at Nasscom, where you are a member of the Executive Committee. There are equally appreciated by influential business journalists, commentators and analysts, and I can mention here, Fortune India or Business Today, which have named you amongst the most influential businesswomen in India several times.
Being the consummate professional that you are, you are equally generous in extending advice and expertise to other organizations. You are the Chair of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology of Calicut. Allow me also to congratulate you on your involvement in another French multinational, Michelin. You have joined their Supervisory Board where you serve as an independent member on salary and appointment-related matters. I am certain your vast experience and out-of-the-box thinking will bring great value addition to this reputed French company.
It has been, indeed, a truly impressive career. But a career created by an exceptionally gifted and determined personality. I know that in India, as in other countries, there are obstacles, prejudices, traditional view-points that can hinder a woman’s professional career. You have often spoken out in public fora that “the glass ceiling” does not really exist, it is only there in some minds, and that your personal career is proof of this fact. I read in these words a lot of modesty, because I can imagine the amount of work, commitment and also enthusiasm that has gone into forging this impressive career. You are a role model for many in this country and beyond, and once again I welcome the fact that your engagement in CapGemini makes you a bridge, a link between our two countries and our cultures.
It is your career, your personality and your personal commitment to a gem of French technology, CapGemini, that France wishes to honour today by awarding you this prestigious decoration, instituted more than two centuries ago by Napoleon Bonaparte.
And now as required by protocol, I will proceed in French:
Madame Aruna Jayanthi, au nom du Président de la République et en vertu des pouvoirs qui me sont conférés, je vous fais Chevalier dans l’ordre de la Légion d’honneur.
