ET OnlineNandan Nilekani, the celebrated technocrat who seeded the idea of a unique identification number for every Indian, underscored the need for good corporate governance in his first conference call after his comeback to Infosys on Thursday night.
"I have not come in as the CEO. I have come in an as execution guy," he said.
Nilekani said it was a little premature to talk about the geographies as to where the new CEO will come from, but he did add that he was in with an open mind and will be looking at Infosys’ current leadership and the firm's alumni for this role.
The task is to get the right person for the job, he said.
Nilekani also listed the qualities he will be looking out in the person he will picking to helm the IT bellwether. "The right candidate will demonstrate excellence in a challenging global environment, show technological prowess, is comfortable with the firm's culturual transformation and more importantly, aligns well with the ideas of the stakeholders."
On Panaya deal, the root cause of the rift, Nilekani said the matter will be addressed, adding that he sees no disruption in the company's near-term performance.
Nilekani said he will be delving on the firm's strategy direction in another concall in October. "I am committed towards the legal agreements the firm has with clients and deals."
Nilekani’s return, one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent corporate history, marks the second instance of a retired cofounder being handed the reins to steer the marquee corporation out of trouble. In 2013, iconic founder NR Narayana Murthy had returned to stem the tide of faltering growth at the company.
Nilekani had words of praise for Murthy, calling him the father of India's corporate governance.
On Thursday — the embattled board of Infosys, which has been the target of extreme ire from Murthy for what he termed as grievous lapses in corporate governance — gathered for a three-hour-long huddle via videoconference before announcing the appointment of Nilekani and the exit of two more board members — Professor Jeffrey Lehman and Professor John Echtemendy with immediate effect.
Co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan will return to his role as independent director. Former CEO Vishal Sikka, who was to have stayed on as executive vice chairman until March 2018, will resign with immediate effect, according to the company statement. Sikka had resigned as CEO just last Friday.
Nilekani, 62, who helped found the company once regarded as the bellwether for India’s $150-billion technology outsourcing industry, will take charge as Infosys’ non-executive, non-independent chairman at a time when the company faces a raft of internal challenges in addition to the threat of slowing growth for Indian IT services companies.
“I am happy to return to Infosys. I am committed to the highest standards of corporate governance. Will exit once my task here is completed,” Nilekani said, stressing on the pain point that led to the dramatic changes at Infosys last week. He, however, refused to put a timeframe on his tenure at the company.
"I have not come in as the CEO. I have come in an as execution guy," he said.
Though Nilekani said his was a non-executive chairman role to ensure board oversight, governance and functioning, the 62-year-old assured investors that his first task will be to help and assist in CEO search. "We are very confident on the search, we have a large pool of internal and external candidates on CEO search."
Nilekani said it was a little premature to talk about the geographies as to where the new CEO will come from, but he did add that he was in with an open mind and will be looking at Infosys’ current leadership and the firm's alumni for this role.
The task is to get the right person for the job, he said.
Nilekani also listed the qualities he will be looking out in the person he will picking to helm the IT bellwether. "The right candidate will demonstrate excellence in a challenging global environment, show technological prowess, is comfortable with the firm's culturual transformation and more importantly, aligns well with the ideas of the stakeholders."
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On Panaya deal, the root cause of the rift, Nilekani said the matter will be addressed, adding that he sees no disruption in the company's near-term performance.
Nilekani said he will be delving on the firm's strategy direction in another concall in October. "I am committed towards the legal agreements the firm has with clients and deals."
Nilekani’s return, one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent corporate history, marks the second instance of a retired cofounder being handed the reins to steer the marquee corporation out of trouble. In 2013, iconic founder NR Narayana Murthy had returned to stem the tide of faltering growth at the company.
Nilekani had words of praise for Murthy, calling him the father of India's corporate governance.
On Thursday — the embattled board of Infosys, which has been the target of extreme ire from Murthy for what he termed as grievous lapses in corporate governance — gathered for a three-hour-long huddle via videoconference before announcing the appointment of Nilekani and the exit of two more board members — Professor Jeffrey Lehman and Professor John Echtemendy with immediate effect.
Co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan will return to his role as independent director. Former CEO Vishal Sikka, who was to have stayed on as executive vice chairman until March 2018, will resign with immediate effect, according to the company statement. Sikka had resigned as CEO just last Friday.
Nilekani, 62, who helped found the company once regarded as the bellwether for India’s $150-billion technology outsourcing industry, will take charge as Infosys’ non-executive, non-independent chairman at a time when the company faces a raft of internal challenges in addition to the threat of slowing growth for Indian IT services companies.
“I am happy to return to Infosys. I am committed to the highest standards of corporate governance. Will exit once my task here is completed,” Nilekani said, stressing on the pain point that led to the dramatic changes at Infosys last week. He, however, refused to put a timeframe on his tenure at the company.
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