Persistent Systems grew from $500M to $1.7B under an outsider CEO's digital bet

Persistent Systems, Anand Deshpande's Pune software firm, spent decades as a respected but sub-scale mid-tier IT player at roughly $500 million in revenue. The board brought in Sandeep Kalra, an outsider from Capgemini, as CEO and executive director to change its trajectory.

Kalra refocused the company on digital engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, data and enterprise AI, pushed proactive selling over RFP-chasing, and concentrated on its largest clients. Growth broadened across banking, healthcare and hi-tech even through the 2022-23 tech slowdown.

The result: Persistent crossed $1 billion in annual revenue in FY23, growing 35.3% year-on-year — its fastest ever — and entered three National Stock Exchange indices including the Nifty IT index. By 2026 Kalra described a roughly $1.7-billion company with 82% of revenue from North America, pursuing a $1.45-billion acquisition of Germany's Nagarro.

Revenue grew from ~$500M to ~$1.7B; FY23 revenue crossed $1 billion, up 35.3% year-on-year, with entry into three NSE indices including the Nifty IT index

An outside CEO reframed Persistent from niche vendor to credible challenger of larger IT firms.

The company picked high-growth lanes — digital engineering, cloud and AI — instead of competing head-on in commodity services.

Proactive, solution-led selling replaced slow RFP-driven cycles, sustaining growth in a downturn.

Top-client focus reversed revenue rampdowns and drove the 35.3% FY23 jump.

Crossing $1B and joining the Nifty IT index re-rated the stock and funded bolder M&A.

A sub-scale IT firm wins by refusing to imitate the giants: pick a lane (digital engineering, cloud, AI), sell proactively instead of waiting for RFPs, and let client concentration compound.

Kalra set a public aspiration of building a $5-billion company. In 2026 Persistent proposed its largest deal ever — a $1.45-billion acquisition of Nagarro — which would create a combined group with nearly $3 billion in annual revenue and a much deeper European footprint.