Happiest minds technologies Co-founder and Executive Chairman Ashok Soota is exploring strategic options for his stake in the IT services firm, having engaged a banker to assess potential sale opportunities.

Stake Holdings and Valuation

Soota maintains a substantial presence in the company through multiple holding structures. His current ownership includes over 32% held directly in the IT services firm, with additional holdings exceeding 40% through other promoter entities.

Strategic Assessment Process

The executive chairman has tapped a banker to evaluate various options for his stake, indicating a structured approach to potential divestment. This move represents one of the significant stake sale considerations in the Indian IT services sector, given the substantial valuation involved.

Market Implications

At current market prices, Soota's stake carries a valuation of approximately Rs 1,980 crore, reflecting the company's market positioning in the IT services landscape. The exploration of sale options by a co-founder and key leadership figure marks a notable development for the technology firm.

The engagement of banking advisors suggests a comprehensive evaluation process is underway to assess the most suitable path forward for the substantial shareholding.

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited has achieved a significant milestone by being certified as Top Employer India 2026 by the Top Employers Institute. The certification recognizes the company's sustained focus on building a people-first, inclusive, and high-performing workplace through rigorous assessment of its human resources practices.

Certification Achievement and Assessment

The Top Employers Institute conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Happiest Minds alongside more than 2,400 organizations globally. The company achieved an outstanding overall score of 92%, significantly surpassing the industry benchmark of 85%. This achievement reflects the company's commitment to excellence in people management and organizational culture.

Comprehensive Evaluation Framework

The certification process involved a thorough review of Happiest Minds' people-friendly practices across six core HR areas: Steer, Shape, Attract, Develop, Engage, and Unite, covering the entire employee lifecycle. The evaluation spanned 20 strategic focus areas, including:

• Workforce planning and people strategy
• Leadership development and succession planning
• Diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Employee wellbeing programs
• Learning and development opportunities
• Performance management systems
• Organizational culture and engagement
• Digital HR and people analytics

The assessment included multiple rounds of verification to ensure that policies and practices truly reflect the actual employee experience across the organization.

Leadership Perspectives on Recognition

Joseph Anantharaju, Co-Chairman & CEO of Happiest Minds Technologies, emphasized the significance of the certification: "The Top Employer India 2026 certification reflects the rigor and consistency with which our people systems have been built over time. Being assessed across more than 2,400 organizations globally and achieving an overall score of 92%, well above the industry standard of 85%, gives us confidence that our people practices are operating at a high level across the organization."

Venkatraman Narayanan, Managing Director, highlighted the company's systematic approach: "Our emphasis has always been on building clear, consistent, and scalable people processes. From hiring and onboarding to performance management and succession, we have worked towards fairness, transparency, and disciplined execution."

Sachin Khurana, Chief People Officer, attributed the recognition to the company's workforce: "This recognition belongs to our people and the culture they build every day. We have focused on listening, supporting growth, and creating an environment where individuals feel included, valued, and motivated to do their best work."

Future Commitment to People Excellence

Happiest Minds has committed to continuing the evolution of its people practices with a strong focus on employee feedback, leadership capability development, and inclusive growth initiatives. The company aims to enable individuals to thrive and contribute meaningfully to long-term organizational success while maintaining its people-first approach that has earned this prestigious recognition.