Indian outsourcing firm WNS Holdings says chairman to step down

Business outsourcing firm WNS chairman steps down

MUMBAI, India — Indian outsourcing firm WNS Holdings Ltd. on Thursday said its chairman is stepping down and named a former Autodesk executive to replace him.

The company said Ramesh Shah, 61, will become vice chairman and Eric B. Herr, 61, will become chairman. Herr has been on the board of directors since 2006.

Herr has held a number of senior executive and consulting positions. Most recently, he worked at Autodesk Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. He also sits on the board of Taleo Corp. and has served as a director of several nonprofit groups.

WNS said Shah has been meaning to cut back on his work load.

The decision to step down is not connected to the board’s decision in September not to pursue talks with several parties that were interested in buying a controlling stake in the company.

WNS declined to identify the potential bidders or say how many parties were interested.

Shares of WNS, based in Mumbai, India, fell 52 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $14.14 in afternoon trading.