Infy appoints Egon Zehnder to find Sikka’s successor

BENGALURU: Infosys Ltd has appointed executive search firm Egon Zehnder International Inc. to find a replacement for Vishal Sikka, who stepped down as the company’s first non-founder CEO a week ago. The development comes less than 24 hours after Infosys named co-founder Nandan Nilekani as non-executive chairman, suggesting he is moving fast to find a leader who can make the software services firm future-ready.

“The board has also approved the appointment of the executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with the nomination and remuneration committee to review and identify the right candidate to be the company’ s next CEO and MD,” said an Infosys statement.

For now, independent director and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw will head the nomination and remuneration committee, which will eventually decide the successor to Sikka, who abruptly resigned on August 18.

Shaw became the head of the panel after former head Jeffrey Sean Lehman stepped down from Infosys’ board on Friday.

“We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and Infosys alumni,” Nilekani told analysts in a call on Friday morning. “We will look at someone who can manage a large corporation, who should be able to execute strategy, have a strong appreciation of the cultural transformation being undertaken, have a strong technology prowess and who is able to build and strengthen relationships with all stakeholders.”