Nandan Nilekani, the nonexecutive chairman of Infosys, who was appointed last night, seems to have gotten into the work mode already. He held a conference call with the investors and other stakeholders on Thursday night and ensured about bringing stability back in Infosys.
On the conference call, Nilekani also added that his first task will be to assist the search for a new CEO and the announcement will take place as soon as something is finalized. He added that Infosys is considering a pool of candidates, which includes insiders as well as professionals working with other organisations at the moment. According to Nilekani, the immediate job will remain to finalize the best person for the top role.
On the call, the new chairman of Infosys also stated that the qualities which will be sought in the new candidate. He added that the new candidate will be hired on the basis of his excellence in implementing the next-gen technologies to keep Infosys at the front of the IT scenario. The new candidate should also be comfortable with Infosys culture and should not recommend too many cultural and strategical changes. The candidate should also be willing to work with the stakeholders.
Panaya deal, the main cause of the ongoing rift between Narayan Murthy and Vishal Sikka will be addressed and according to Nilekani, such developments do not possess a threat to the company’s near or long term goals. Though he refused to talk more on the same saying that he respects the agreement between Infosys and its clients.
A lot has been talked about Nandan Nilekani’s relationship with Narayan Murthy and how the appointment of Nilekani will get the powers back to Murthy. On the call yesterday, Nilekani was all in praise for Murthy and called him the father of India’s corporate governance.
Infosys co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan will return as an independent director whereas, Vishal Sikka will resign with immediate effect. Vishal Sikka was first asked to remain an executive vice-chairman till 31st March 2018, however, with Nilekani coming back, that does not seem happening.
On the call, he also mentioned that he has been appointed at Infosys with specific goals and will leave the company once those goals are achieved. He failed to give an indication about the term of his tenure with the company.