Who are the new helmsmen at the top at India's most respected firm

For those watching changes at Infosys, the feted Bangalore software services company, a story from 31 years ago will throw light on the DNA of the team taking over at the firm's helm. In a bout of temper while still an employee at Pune software services firm Patni Computer Systems, N.R. Narayana Murthy tells a junior colleague he should not leave office until he finishes a complex task assigned to him. Two days later, Murthy and his wife Sudha, on their way back home at 1 a.m. after a late night dinner, swing by the office. Murthy sees someone wearing a lungi, a printed dhoti-like garment worn mostly in south India, working at a computer. The worker is at a distance and has his back to the couple. They ask the security guard, who is new and does not know Murthy, who the late-night worker is. The guard tells him it is an unfortunate guy under a bad boss, who has asked him not to go home until he completes his job. The nightbird, who had clocked over 48 hours in office, was 25-year-old S.D. Shibulal.But the current phase, as Gopalakrishnan himself says, is one of big change. "For the first time the company will run without Murthy being involved. And it is the first step towards a future date when no founder will be involved," he says. When that happens, it is reasonably certain that the early nonfounder CEOs will all be from within the company. Having built a solid set up to shape future leaders - a leadership centre at Mysore, a vibrant executive council, a closely guarded list of 50 top executives - Infosys has the depth to do so entirely on merit. "The cultural orientation and the long term perspective that a committed and loyal employee brings is worth more that the possibly short-term and instant results from a relative outsider," says Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, Vice President with global executive search firm Stanton Chase.Viewed from that prism, it is certain that Vemuri, Srinivas and Balakrishnan are likely to have the first chance to be the next CEO at Infosys when Shibulal steps aside. And as much as it is an open race, there are already wagers being placed in the company. Vemuri runs the biggest business at Infosys and is "an out and out salesman, all aggressive and high energy", says the ex-Infosys worker who knows the three well. Srinivas, this person says, is "very strategic, focuses and prioritises well; and importantly is a people person". Balakrishnan, for now, is seen as an outlier since he has run a function, not a business on his own. This view on the trio resonates in various interviews with people in and around the company.The outlook for these three new directors - each watched closely by shareholders - of Infosys is best captured by an earthy piece of advice put forward by the former senior Infosys executive: Jo poori layega, woh upar jayega, which roughly translates as: "He who brings in the bread will get the leg-up."Graphic illustrations by Santosh Kushwaha