Richard M. Christman, Chairman
Mr. Richard M. Christman, the Chairman of Caresoft, is a success driven Senior Business Executive with a proven track record of providing strategic vision and implementing strategies that have achieved revenue, profit and market performance through optimizing people, processes and systems. He is intensely focused on delivering value-added solutions to key customers worldwide by leveraging technology innovation and capitalizing on market opportunities.
Having completed Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana, he began his career as a design engineer for the Ford Motor Company. Upon obtaining his MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Michigan, he joined Case Corporation in their Strategic Planning Group. Over his 30 year career with Case/CNH Global, he held several senior positions including Sr. VP Europe, Sr. VP Parts, Sr. VP Product Management and Business Development, President Worldwide Case IH, President NA Agricultural Business and Chief Commercial Governance and Supply Chain Officer. Christman then became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GSI in 2005. Upon the sale of GSI, he became an Executive Partner at Giant Partners which specializes in the development of Growth Strategies. In January 2008, he became the Chairman of Caresoft Global.
He served as the Chairman and member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Currently, he is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Carthage College and is also currently serving on the Strategic Planning and Small Enterprise steering committees for AEM.
M. Manickam, Vice-Chairman
Mr. Manickam, the Vice-Chairman of Caresoft and the ABT Group of Companies, is also a University of Michigan graduate. He joined his visionary father Mr. N. Mahalingam, an industrialist and philanthropist, in the business and very soon changed his father’s ambitions into reality. Mr. Manickam has been instrumental in developing and expanding the ABT Group to a $1 billion conglomerate, through several advancements and acquisitions. The ABT Group currently has 1 foundry in India and 1 foundry in Europe and has successfully expanded its businesses into Sugars, Soya, Textiles, Auto Components, Education and Finance, with global presence in over 12 countries.
Mr. Manickam, an avid fan of information technology, is very keen about providing computer facilities and infrastructure for his employees and students. The 21 Non-profit educational institutions which came into being primarily for ABT’s employees are now so prestigious, that every student wishes to be a part of it. Approximately 1000 engineers graduate every year from ABT’s Technical Institutions. Mr. Manickam, the correspondent for 5 of ABT’s Educational Institutions and the Vice-Chairman of 3 Engineering colleges, has introduced and implemented several computer based training programs for the students and teachers of its institutions.
Mr. Manickam served as the President of the South Indian Sugar Mills Association (SISMA -TamilNadu) during the years 1993-94, 1994-95 and 2006-07; President of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), New Delhi during 1996-97, and President of the Sugar Technologists’ of India (STAI) from 2000-2002.
Arjun Nagendra, Vice President - Operations
Mr. Arjun Nagendra completed his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mysore, Karnataka and started his career in 1992. He has worked in the Automotive & Manufacturing sectors at organizations like Visteon Automotive Systems & Delphi Automotive Systems, for over 13 years. His role in manufacturing revolved around areas such as manufacturing costing, manufacturing planning, process design, manufacturing documentation, interfacing with suppliers, development of machinery & tooling & setting up of new product lines with exposure to lean manufacturing & fundamental quality systems of automotive industry. His product line experience includes Climate Control Systems, Drive Shafts, Steering Columns etc.
Using his deep rooted experience in core manufacturing, Arjun moved into Manufacturing Engineering services and later, also handled BPO processes around procurement & other domains for the past 6 years. While expanding his domain knowledge and engineering skills, Arjun also gained a good understanding of business finance & its drivers in the service industry. This helped him move rapidly into a leadership role as Vice President in Satyam BPO, where he was responsible for the service delivery and also focussed on providing solutions & Presales support in the Engineering domain & back office P2P BPO functions. He also had a brief stint at Cognizant Technology Solutions before joining Caresoft.
Arjun joined Caresoft as the Vice President of Operations in September 2010 and is instrumental in providing guidance to the 250+ associates in the organization. The domain knowledge and business acumen he has leveraged from his prior experience is helping him achieve growth for Caresoft, while providing world class service delivery to its customers.