Nearly one week after Vishal Sikka, former CEO and MD of Infosys, decided to step down in view of growing in-fighting between the board and founders, efforts are underway to restore normalcy.
Nandan Nilekani returned to lead Infosys Ltd. as co-founders asserted their influence to shake up the board of India’s second largest software services.
Nilekani, the architect of Aadhaar, will take over as chairman and non-executive director. R Seshasayee, Jeffrey S Lehman, John Etchemendy and Sikka resigned from the board. Ravi Venkatesan stepped down as co-chairman but will continue as an independent director.
This brings back a founder on the board Infosys after a gap of three years that coincided with Sikka’s term. Billionaire founders together own 12.75 percent of Infosys and equivalent shareholding rights.
Nilekani did not take sides publicly even as a spat raged for months between Murthy and the board over Sikka’s pay, acquisition of Israeli firm Panaya and severance pay for former Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Bansal. His return will help bring truce and allow the company focus on challenges ranging from automation to visa curbs in the U.S., the software exporter’s largest market.
The information technology bellwether’s stock had tumbled as much as 15 percent in just two trading sessions after Sikka’s exit even as the company announced a Rs 13,000 crore share buyback plan.
Nilekani, who co-founded the information technology giant with Murthy and five others 36 years ago, is likely to mainly look at setting up a new management.
At least a dozen large institutional shareholders of Infosys Ltd. on Wednesday urged the company's board to rope in Nilekani to restore confidence amid uncertainty stemming from Vishal Sikka’s exit as the chief executive officer.
Nilekani, who was the managing director and chief executive officer at Infosys from 2002 till 2007, enjoys the confidence of customers, shareholders and employees, they said in a letter to the Board.
Meanwhile, Murthy who was supposed to hold an investor call on Wednesday, postponed it citing ill health.
