LONDON--Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has named Ashish Babu as its new director of communications for the UK and Ireland.
Babu joins the operation from TCS’ home market of India, where he was head of communications. He joins a European communications team that is led by Brussels-based chief communications officer Abhinav Kumar, who oversees UK, France, Germany, Benelux and the Nordics.
Babu was also part of the launch team of the Tata Sky joint venture between News Corp and Tata, where he developed and implemented a nationwide communications strategy for the direct-to-home television platform in India. Prior to joining Tata, he worked stints at Weber Shandwick and Genesis Burson-Marsteller.
“His assignment represents an upgraded position of the UK market in the company's scheme of PR priorities and indeed that of the larger Tata Group, which with 45,000-plus employees in the UK has become embedded as a major player in the country's economy,” said Kumar.
TCS is the largest or India’s IT service companies, and the first to cross US$10bn in revenues. The UK and Ireland region is the firm’s second largest market worldwide, accounting for over 15 percent of global earnings in its 2012 fiscal year. It counts 25 companies from the FTSE 100 among its client roster.
The company's global PR remit is handled by Fleishman Hillard, which also represents it in the UK. TCS confirmed that it had recently begun a review of the public affairs component of its public sector business in the UK.
TCS was recently adjudged the fourth most valuable IT services brand by Brand Finance, with a brand value of US$4.1bn, placing it behind IBM, HP and Accenture.