Domestic Institutional Investors, who hold a significant stake in Infosys, have supported the campaign of bringing Nandan Nilekani back on Infosys board and have urged the company to take steps in the same regard.
In a letter dated Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017, the investors stated that the body has held discussions and after the mutual deliberations, it is learnt that the investors want Nandan Nilekani back on board. Though it is understood that Nilekani might not be available to take up the opportunity full time, the letter has urged the company to convince Nilekani to join in a suitable capacity.
The letter also stated that the investors feel Nilekani enjoys trust and support of the majority of the stakeholders in Infosys and his elevation to hold the top responsibility will not be opposed by anyone concerned.
Nandan Nilekani, who was one of the original 7 co-founders of the company, left Infosys in 2009 while he was vice-president to head UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India). UIDAI is the organisation which has developed Aadhaar.
The letter from investors added that Nandan Nilekani’s credentials make him the best candidate for the situation that is going on right now. This move will also establish the lost trust of shareholders in the company and will take it to stability. In the letter, the investors have urged Nilekani to consider this proposal and join Infosys board asap.
The list of investors mentioned on the letter include the likes of Franklin Templeton Chief Information Officer Anand Radhakrishnan, IDFC AMC (equities) Head Anoop Bhaskar, DSP Blackrock Investment Managers’ CIO Anup Maheshwari, SBI Life Insurance CIO Gopikrishna Shenoy, Birla Sunlife AMC Co-CIO Mahesh Patil, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance CIO Manish Kumar, SBI Funds Management Executive Director Navneet Munot, Kotak Mahindra AMC CEO Nilesh Shah, HDFC AMC Executive Director Prashant Jain, and HDFC Life Insurance CIO Prasun Gajri.
Along with this, there are rumours that SBI head, Arundhati Bhattacharya might also be in contention to join company’s board.
Infosys declined to comment on the development saying that the company does not want to react on speculations and rumours.