MURTHY NOT A SHAREHOLDER ACTIVIST, SAYS INFOSYS
BENGALURU: Infosys independent director and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan on Wednesday said the company certainly would not want to label co-founder and promoter NR Na ray an a M ur thy as a shareholder activist, but consider him a “well-wisher.”
“I would like to see him—Murthy— a saw ell-wisher of Info sys, which he has been and will continue to be so... I don’t think we should label him as A or B, and certainly not as a shareholder activist,” he told the Press Trust of India in an interview. He was responding to a query on whether the company would prefer to see Murthy, who has been flagging falling corporate governance standards, as shareholder activist or a well-wisher.
Venkatesan said he regards Murthy not only as the founder, but a mentor, and hoped that the relationship with him continues in a productive way for a long term.
Infosys had flagged actions by “activist shareholders” as a risk factor, which could potentially require the company to in cur significant legal fees and public relations costs. In its annual filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Infosys said such activities could interfere with the company’s ability to execute its strategic plan. Over the past few months, the company has been battling allegations by Murthy and other former senior executives of falling corporate governance standards.
Asked who are the shareholder activists the company is wary about, Venkatesan said, “I think that is the question for CF O Ran ga( Rang ana th D Mavinakere ).” He however said the company’s risks are not related to a single event, which unfortunately the media picked up, but to 55 risks including cyber security risk. “We called out 55 risks... we have clarified both the company and I that we didn’t intend to call out any one individual (Murthy) or group in particular, but as a generic risk,” he added.