Former Infosys board members hit back at Narayana Murthy
BENGALURU: Three of the four board members—including former chairman R Seshasayee—who resigned from Infosys Ltd in August hit back on Friday at founder NR Narayana Murthy for comments he made in an address to investors, potentially escalating a bitter war of words between the two sides.
Seshasayee, along with former independent directors Jeffrey Sean Lehman and John Etchemendy, sharply rebuked Murthy in a media statement and described his remarks as “patently false and slanderous accusations”.
Seshasayee said Murthy’s remarks had forced him to defend himself against what he termed “personal attacks”. Former Infosys chief executive officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka, who was the fourth board member to step down, was not a signatory to the statement.
“Since my resignation from the board of Infosys, I have kept away from making any public statements, despite provocations, since I sincerely want the company to move forward, and not be bogged down with the issues of the past,” Seshasayee said in the statement, which was issued jointly with Etchemendy and Lehman.
“To quote an anonymous whistleblower letter that alleged many things, which have subsequently been proved baseless and false through multiple investigations by highly respected counsel, in order to give an impression to the audience that I lied to the shareholders, is patently offensive,” added Seshasayee.
Earlier this week, co-founder Murthy had taken a direct shot at Lehman and Roopa Kudva, who remains on the Infosys board.
He alleged that when he wanted to know the reason for paying ₹17.38 crore in severance to former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal, Lehman said it was confidential and could not be disclosed; Kudva said the founders would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement if they wanted to know the reason, according to Murthy.
Seshasayee alleged that Murthy had taken the conversations with Lehman and Kudva out of context.
“The words that Mr Murthy attributes to Jeff Lehman and Roopa Kudva, from their private conversation with him, are also egregiously taken out of context,” said Seshasayee.
The feud between Murthy and the previous board of Infosys, which included these four board members, dates back more than a year, when Murthy and some of the other founders did not vote for Sikka’s extended tenure as CEO and a 55% salary hike in early 2016.
“For the good of Infosys, I wish Mr Murthy would stop defaming Mr Seshasayee and the other members of a board who have served with dedication and integrity, who have turned the other cheek when slandered, and who have acted only in the best interests of the company,” Lehman said in the statement.