Now we can all sleep better with Nilekani back at Infy: Murthy
‘Corrective actions have already begun’
Infosys Ltd founder Narayana Murthy on Tuesday defended his role in a monthslong war of words with the company’s board that led to changes at the top, saying his actions were in the interest of shareholders.
Speaking to investors on a conference call, Murthy said he hoped the company’s management would rally behind Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder and a former Infosys CEO, who was named as non-executive chairman last week.
“Now we can all sleep better knowing Infosys is under the leadership of Nandan Nilekani,” said Murthy. “In fact, based on Nandan’s media interviews and the recent changes in the board, I believe that corrective actions have already begun.”
“Infy board under previous chairman Seshasayee gave inconsistent responses to why ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal was paid large severance,” he added.
Stating that his main concern was the poor governance practised by the previous board of Infosys, Murthy said his actions have never been and never will be for individual or personal gain.
He added that the summary of the independent probe into Infosys’s $200 million Panaya acquisition does not address whistleblower allegations of irregularities.
“Like any other concerned and logical shareholder of the company, my hope was that the detailed report would contain a full rebuttal of the claims of the whistleblower that I have quoted earlier. I was also hoping that the full report would point out gaps in governance and suggest corrective actions. These are the only reasons why I asked for the full report to be disclosed,” said Murthy in the investor call.
“In the absence of full disclosure, it is difficult to believe that, under the previous board, ‘Infosys has continued to maintain the highest standards of corporate governance that the Company is known for’, as claimed by the board in Moneycontrol.com dated August 18, 2017.”
Vishal Sikka, the first CEO of Infosys drawn from outside its founders, resigned this month, blaming Murthy for creating an “untenable atmosphere”, sparking a sell-off and wiping billions of dollars off Infosys’s market value.
Sikka’s sudden exit sparked a sell-off that wiped billions of dollars off Infosys’s market value, forcing India’s No. 2 IT services firm to reshuffle its board and bring back Nilekani.
The return of Nilekani, who is credited with quadrupling Infosys’ revenue to $2 billion, has cheered investors - he is widely expected to end the board’s row with founder executives, help clients and boost employee morale.
Nilekani told investors last week his priorities were to find a CEO, reconstitute the board and shape future strategy.