LTM Ltd.’s first year under chief executive Venu Lambu has been marked by bigger bets on growth, even as the information technology sector grapples with uncertainty around artificial intelligence (AI)-led disruption and weak investor sentiment.
The Mumbai-based company, born out of the consolidation of Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Mindtree, had last week announced its first acquisition since listing in 2022, buying select Randstad business units for about $180 million. It also secured its largest deal to date in October—a six-year IT transformation contract worth $585 million from US entertainment company Paramount Global.
The company is now advancing its target of doubling revenue by a year to FY31, as Lambu argues that enterprises will continue to spend on technology if AI investments deliver business context, cost efficiency and measurable returns.
Edited excerpts:
Q. You are completing one year as CEO, what are some of the hits and misses in this first year?
To be honest, I’m very happy about what we have achieved. I would probably say I have had more hits for FY26. It’s still a work in progress.
Firstly, I think it’s about shifting to a growth mindset. Growth is fundamentally the beachhead of any company, like life and oxygen. It solves many issues, whether it’s employees’ progression, our ability to invest in talent, giving returns to the shareholders, and everything you know, is all centred around growth.
The second change is about what was considered as normal and acceptable, whether it’s in terms of productivity, talent transformation, or the ability to be aligned to new performance indicators that define not just productivity but also address fundamental aspects of business like running operations, how fast we can modernize systems, and how effectively we can develop systems for customers.
Do you fear the rapid advancement in AI technologies? Don’t you think it might prompt clients to curb their tech spending and wait for the next best thing?
You can’t control the speed of innovation. I think the biggest point we are all missing in this for enterprises is the three Cs. The first one is that, irrespective of the tools and the development in technology, it needs to be applied in ‘context’, and we want to be very close to the business. The second is ‘cost’. No tools and technologies come for free. There has to be an ROI (return on investment) to decide which scenario AI makes sense and which it doesn’t. The third is the mindset ‘change’. You can purchase lots of AI tools for multi-million dollars, but if you just use that as a tool to validate your work and create alternative deliverables without actually improving client experience, increasing the manufacturing production or productivity, it’s not a wise investment, in my view.
Your peers are acquiring companies to improve their software and AI capabilities. On the other hand, your Randstad acquisition seems more like a growth buy?
There are contours to the deal. The first contour of the deal is how we can grow faster in Europe, and access to the kind of customers we’re going to get access to, whether it’s in Australia, France and Germany, considering where we are today, is a premium. It’s a speed path for us to grow that revenue faster. Secondly, no customers will deal with you if you don’t have any capabilities.
But there are concerns about difficulties in absorbing the entire $500 million from Randstad’s business, as they’re cutting down on tail accounts and their top clients are insourcing IT work.
There is a strategic GCC angle in this structure. They (Randstad’s clients) are very happy to have a partner who can now provide them with a full set of capabilities, including for their . Secondly, I wouldn’t be overly concerned about whether $500 million will become $480 or $490 million (revenue from Randstad this year). The point is that we aspire to double our (LTM’s) revenue in five years, and for that, access to newer markets with embedded capabilities is extremely important.
How many employees did the Randstad businesses have, and will you take them all in?
Yes, all Randstad employees will come. About 2,700 employees.
Speaking of employees, can you tell us about your fresher hiring target this year, especially as AI reduces the need for more humans than in the past?
Last year, when we grew, we cut lateral headcount, so I would expect the same this year. I think we added about 6,600 freshers (last year). So, we’re looking at about the same number of offers we’ll make this year.
What is your moat? Why must a client choose LTM as their vendor of choice?
I think the biggest moat for us is our ability to provide a contextual solution to the customer. It is not just having certain domain capabilities. Most of this knowledge is with our employees, and it is built over the years. Look at the deep relationship we have with clients and the tenure of our key leaders in those accounts. There is a huge context that clients appreciate that we bring.
Still, your company’s shares are down about 34% year-to-date, the lowest among the country’s top 10 IT firms. What would you say to assuage investor concerns?
There are macroeconomic aspects. There is a sectoral outlook, which I believe is overstated more on the negative side. And that is where I said at the beginning that only one side of the narrative is heard when it comes to .
I think as the industry is going through a transition phase, we’re fairly confident we’ll continue this growth momentum. Once the investor sees tangible results from the sector, I’m sure the analysis will be revisited.
What is your take on the new green card rules and all the talk about H-1B visas in the US?
At the outset, there is no material impact. We have significantly reduced our H-1B dependency over time.
What are your plans for salary hikes this year?
Last year, we deferred hikes over two quarters, so that is completed. We honoured that commitment, and that has been executed. For FY27, it’s just started, so we’ll see.