Sangita Reddy's (founder Managing Director, Apollo Health Street) ascent to corporate heights did not happen overnight.

Business Today :
January 13, 2008

Reddy's ascent to corporate heights did not happen overnight. She stepped into the family business in 1983 at the age of 21 as a management trainee and worked in every department of Chennai's Apollo Hospital, India's first corporate hospital which went public two years later. She was also the Executive Assistant to the Chairman in charge of Special Projects. "That's how I got an overview of the entire organisation," she says, sitting in her office in the 33-acre boulder and grass-carpeted Apollo Health City campus in Hyderabad's upscale Jubilee Hills. The one constant all this while has been her relentless adoration for her father. "I continue to be astounded by his continuous positivity. He sees things ahead of others," says the doting daughter. Dr Reddy, too, does not hide whose side he is on. "Being the youngest, she is my favourite daughter," he says fondly. Reddy, however, is not the one to be smug about being a worthy heiress or about the 70 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) in revenues that Health Street is clocking organically. She is always on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the US as part of inorganic growth strategy. For, healthcare off-shoring may no longer be limited just to medical billing, coding or claims processing. Global healthcare providers and insurers, says Shashwat Sharma, Associate Director, KPMG, are paying more attention to efficiency and affordability for their consumers. "At a projected growth of above 30 per cent over the next five years, Indian off-shoring majors will handle patient case management and medical analytics in a significant way," adds Sharma.Not everyone, however, agrees with Reddy's recent buyout adventures. Vijay Kedia, MD, Kedia Securities, for instance, feels the recent acquisition was unnecessary at a time when dollar was depreciating.

In the last two to three years, Apollo Hospital has been slow in expansion though the industry demand is robust and new entrants like Fortis are growing rapidly. At 23 per cent employee attrition levels and the 800-member US workforce accounting for 70 per cent of HR costs, it is not a cakewalk for Apollo Health Street. Anish Zaveri, Associate Director, KPMG, too, believes that rupee and talent pool very much remain a challenge for healthcare BPOs. But an effusive Reddy says the rupee's impact on margins has been minimal all these days because of the adequate forward cover and is confident that the constant innovation within the BPO will always keep it ahead.