Mumbai: Firstsource announced that Ananda Mukerji, MD and CEO would be stepping down from his current position on July 27, 2010 and that Matthew Vallance, currently Jt. MD and President BFSI and Telecom and Media and member of the Firstsource Board will succeed him as MD and CEO. From that date, Mukerji will assume the position of non-executive Vice-Chairman on the board of Firstsource. Dr. Ashok Ganguly, Chairman said, "Ananda has led the company since its inception and has established Firstsource as one of India's largest pure-play BPO companies. The Board would like to acknowledge his vision, leadership and dedication in taking the Company to its present level of performance and profitability and is delighted that he will continue as the non-executive Vice-Chairman. The Board is pleased to accept his recommendation of appointing Matthew Vallance as his successor." Commenting on his decision, Ananda Mukerji said, "After a long and satisfying stint I have decided to step down as the MD and CEO to pursue other opportunities. This is a company which I was involved in establishing and have led ever since. I am proud of the fact that Firstsource today is acknowledged as one of the key players in the BPO industry with well-diversified revenues, marquee customers, and a great management team. I believe the company has significantly strengthened itself over the last 2 years with a sharpened focus on key industry verticals and is poised for strong growth and margin expansion. I am delighted that the Board has accepted my recommendation to appoint Matthew Vallance as the new CEO. Matt and I have worked closely for the last several years and I am confident he will be an able CEO who will lead the company to even greater heights." While accepting his appointment as MD and CEO, Vallance said, "I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Firstsource through its next stage of development, and I look forward to the challenge. As companies around the world aim to improve their competitive positioning in a tough economic environment, I believe that outsourcing will continue to be a key business improvement strategy." Vallance joined Firstsource with the acquisition on CustomerAsset in 2002 and has since then led business development for the company in the UK. In March 2008 he took on additional business development responsibilities in the US market and, following the company's reorganisation in March 2009, assumed responsibility for the BFSI and Telecoms businesses globally. In January 2010, Matthew was appointed to the board of directors as Joint Managing Director.