Kiran Karnik had some commendable work behind him, at ISRO and Discovery Channel. But in the IT industry it was "Kiran who?" when his name was announced as Nasscom president following Dewang Mehta's demise. Not many were sure that the soft-spoken Karnik would be able to take up Mehta's mantle. Five years down, the doubters are silenced. Karnik has proved to all that there is resolute will behind the quiet and courteous exterior.

During his tenure, the software and services industry has seen explosive growth, despite the several crises on the way-which Nasscom responded to very effectively: the anti-outsourcing wave in the US, the BPO data theft scandals, the H1B visa issue.