Narayana Murthy is expected to re-work the strategy and look into aspects that need to be strengthened as well as abandoned.
In a dramatic development, Narayana Murthy, returned to the executive leadership of the $7.4-billion Infosys, two years after retiring from the iconic company he had founded. He was forced to rejoin because Infosys, once the bellwether of the I-T industry, is currently struggling, with its revenues falling behind its peers such as TCS, Cognizant and HCL in the past five years. Murthy, who owns a 5% stake in the company he had co-founded in 1981 with Rs 10,000 borrowed from his wife.
INDIACSR News Network
BANGALORE: Infosys Limited said today that the Company’s Board has appointed Mr. N R Narayana Murthy, 67, into the Board and executive leadership of the Company. In a meeting held earlier today, the Board approved appointing Mr. N R Narayana Murthy as Executive Chairman of the Board and Additional Director with effect from June 1, 2013.
Mr. Murthy’s election as a Director would be placed for the consideration of the Company’s shareholders in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 15, 2013. Subject to his election as a director at the AGM, the Board will take up in its meeting on June 15, 2013, the resolutions for convening an extraordinary general meeting within the requisite period, in order to seek approval from the shareholders for appointing him as the Executive Chairman and Whole-time Director for a period of five years commencing on June 1, 2013.
Mr. K V Kamath would step down from his position as Chairman of the Board and take up the position of Lead Independent Director effective June 1, 2013.
Mr. K V Kamath said, The Board has taken this step keeping in mind the challenges that the technology industry and the Company faces and in the interest of all stakeholders, particularly shareholders large and small, who have asked for strengthening of the executive leadership during this challenging time. Murthy’s entrepreneurial and leadership record and the long experience he has had as a technology pioneer makes him eminently qualified to lead the company and provide strategic direction at this point in time.
Mr. N R Narayana Murthy said, “This calling was sudden, unexpected, and most unusual. But, then, Infosys is my middle child. Therefore, I have put aside my plans-in-progress and accepted this responsibility. I am grateful to Mr. K V Kamath – the Chairman, the Board, and every Infoscion for giving me this opportunity. I intend to do my best to add value to the Company in this challenging situation.”
During his five year term, Mr. Murthy would draw a token compensation of Rupee One per year.
Mr. S Gopalakrishnan would be re-designated Executive Vice Chairman effective June 1, 2013 and would primarily focus on key client relationships and broader industry issues. Mr. S D Shibulal would continue to be the Managing Director and CEO.
Mr. S Gopalakrishnan and Mr. S D Shibulal have requested that they draw a compensation of Rupee One per year. The Board has accepted their requests, subject to necessary shareholder and government approvals.
In order to function more effectively Mr. Narayana Murthy intends to create the Chairman’s office to assist him during his tenure and has requested the Board to permit him to put together a team for this function. The team will include his son, Dr. Rohan Murty, as Mr. Narayana Murthy’s executive assistant.
Mr. Rohan Murty is a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Cornell University and has held fellowships at MIT, Caltech, and Microsoft Research. He has authored several papers and patents as part of his research on wireless and mobile computing. If appointed, Mr. Rohan Murty’s term as Executive Assistant to the Chairman would be co-terminus with that of Mr. Narayana Murthy. Mr. Rohan Murty has requested that he should also be paid only a token compensation of Rupee One per year.
The Board has agreed to Mr. Narayana Murthy’s requests, subject to necessary approvals.
