Subramaniam Ramadorai will this month take over as Chair of ICC’s initiative Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS).

BASIS was created in 2006 to serve as the voice of global business in the international dialogue on Internet governance issues and on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can better serve as engines of economic growth and social development.

Mr Ramadorai is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., a large global software and services company headquartered in Mumbai. During his 35-year tenure at Tata, Mr Ramadorai has helped establish offshore development centers in India offering high-end IT solutions to leading corporations.

“It is an exciting new challenge for me taking on the role of BASIS chair. BASIS has a strong reputation in the ICT sector and I am particularly looking forward to broadening and strengthening BASIS activities to support business objectives in developing regions around the world,” Mr Ramadorai said.

He succeeds Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO of TAGI. Mr Abu-Ghazaleh chaired BASIS from the founding of the initiative in mid-2006. “Mr Ramadorai has an impressive track record on three fronts − innovation, nurturing IT excellence in the developing world, and working with the world’s top companies − all of which will be extremely useful to BASIS’ mission and activities,” Mr Abu-Ghazaleh said.

“Recent research has shown that ICTs are major drivers of the global economy,” said ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban. “BASIS contributes to global undertakings designed to increase access to these wonderful tools, which contribute to expansion of the world economy. BASIS also brings business expertise to the discussions on Internet related policies which are increasingly important for all business sectors and users. Mr Ramadorai’s leadership experience and business acumen will benefit this initiative and its contributions to these global issues.”   

BASIS offers business expertise and voices business priorities on a wide range of critical issues, from Internet governance to ICTs for development. The initiative has a global membership of companies and associations from a large spectrum of business sectors.