AROUND BRITAIN

Resourceful thinking

A growing band of ‘Asianpreneurs’ is investing in the UK, but one Indian outsourcing business is led by a Brit. Laurie Laird meets Matthew Vallance, chief executive of Firstsource and a businessman with a unique perspective on inter-continental trade

T

hanks to their innovative thinking – be it Ratan Tata launching the world’s cheapest car or Vijay Mallya who recently established

India’s fi rst Formula 1 team, Indian entrepreneurs are as prolifi c here as they are in their homeland. However, not all captains of Indian industry attract such high-profi le coverage. Step forward the unassuming Matthew Vallance, chief executive of the Mumbai-based outsourcing company Firstsource, and in all likelihood the only British boss of a major Indian business. With more than 29,000 employees

across the globe, and a client base that includes some of the UK’s major mobile phone providers and mortgage lenders, Firstsource might well be the biggest company that you’ve never heard of.

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