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Who is Manas Human? The IIT Delhi alumnus behind German IT firm Nagarro
Manas Human is the 54-year-old Indian co-founder and CEO of Nagarro, an IT services company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany.
A massive 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) bid has been placed by India’s Persistent Systems to acquire Germany-based digital engineering firm Nagarro. On social media, the news has created a splash and is being hailed as a rare example of an Indian company acquiring a global one.
Following this announcement, shares of Persistent Systems fell as much as 11.9% on Monday to a near 15-month low of 4,298.50 rupees, as stock market analysts raised concerns over the deal's high valuation and potential integration risks, Reuters reported. Despite the market's cautious reaction, Nagarro’s board plans to recommend the offer to its shareholders.
According to Nagarro’s co-founder and CEO, Manas Human, the acquisition is about far more than just adding scale. Speaking on the deal to Business Line, Human noted that the deal is about creating a global leader in “AI transformation and engineering” at a time when generative AI is transforming the IT services industry.
Who is Manas Human?
Manas Human is the 54-year-old Indian co-founder and CEO of Nagarro, a digital engineering and technology services company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany.
Beyond his role at Nagarro, he is also the founder and trustee of Plaksha University, an institution focused on technology and innovation education.
Born in Dibrugarh, Assam, Manas Human spent part of his childhood in Iraq before moving to Delhi as a teenager.
In 2022, Human adopted a new surname, changing it from Fuloria to Human at the age of 50. In a LinkedIn post shared on Germany’s Unity Day, he said the change reflected his belief that human identity should rise above divisions linked to caste, religion, nationality and ethnicity.
Manas Human’s Education
Human holds an elite academic background spanning top-tier institutions in India and the United States.
He completed his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Manufacturing Science & Engineering from IIT Delhi, and later earned a Master of Science (MS) in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University, where he was also a recipient of the Stanford Institute of Manufacturing and Automation (SIMA) Fellowship.
He subsequently returned to IIT Delhi to obtain his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Supply Chain Management.
Additionally, his academic journey includes time spent at Harvard Business School, where he worked as a Research Associate within the Technology and Operations Management group.
Manas Human’s Career
Human’s interest in software began during his years in California in the 1990s. Reflecting on that period, he said he was fascinated by how people from different backgrounds could connect through programming. “Everybody spoke the same language. Everybody spoke the language of code,” he told the Times of India.
That idea eventually led him and a group of entrepreneurs to merge two small firms and create Nagarro. The company started from a modest first-floor office and grew gradually over several years.
The company's unique name was discovered by chance in a Robert Ludlum novel, where it was described as "spirits emerging and spirits coming together."
It took Nagarro five years to reach $1 million in annual revenue, 10 years to reach $5 million, and 15 years to cross $20 million. Two decades after its founding, the company crossed $150 million in revenue.
The company later became one of the fastest-growing digital engineering firms globally, with revenue approaching $1 billion. Nagarro had historically operated under German IT services group Allgeier before being spun off and listed independently in December 2020.
