Narayana Murthy thanks Nandan Nilekani, Salil Parekh for reviving Infosys, says he has renounced interest in the business world

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said Nandan Nilekani, the tech major's Co-founder and Chairman, along with Salil Parekh, the company's present CEO, deserve credit and gratitude for turning around the company's trajectory post 2017.

Without taking names, Murthy was referring to the exit of Vishal Sikka who resigned as the company’s Managing Director and CEO in August 2017. Sikka's three-year stint at Infosys was marred by disagreements between the company’s founders and the board. 

“I thank Nandan Nilekani and Salil Parekh for reviving the company in 2017 and accelerating growth for the last five years. What has happened between 2017 and today is truly extraordinary. We all have been watching it with admiration and are all so proud of what these two have achieved,” he said at a media event marking its four decades of existence. 

The Infosys founders pulled off a coup in September 2017 with Nilekani returning to head the company as chairman after R Seshasayee quit the post and co-chair Ravi Venkatesan resigned as vice-chairman. After Sikka's resignation, the company found itself standing at the crossroads with plenty of uncertainty, forcing several institutional investors to step in and persuade Nilekani to return. The return of a founder put an end to a three-year experiment by Infosys to bring for the first time an independent board and a professional CEO. 

Nilekani's earlier tenure at the helm of Infosys from March 2002 to April 2007 represented a bright phase for the company with its market capitalisation surging by as much as 374 per cent during this period. Nilekani had taken over as CEO from NR Narayana Murthy in March 2002 and passed on the reins to his successor Kris Gopalakrishnan, who took over as CEO in 2007. 

Parekh was brought in 2018 to salvage the business and image of the IT services major. He walked into that tense situation having to balance many equations inside and outside—keeping the promoters in good humour and also not lose the trust of clients. Slowly but firmly, the mild-mannered Parekh shepherded the company through the difficult phase—no drama, no public posturing, no demonstrable aggression—and brought it strongly back onto the growth path. 

Murthy said he has renounced his interest in the business world after turning 75 years old (in 2021) and that he is no more with Catamaran, a venture capital fund he floated in 2016. Murthy had left Infosys in 2014 after his second stint leaving the reins to a non-founder management and board. 

Talking about the future plans, Nilekani said he is yet to form a Plan B for his eventual exit and the focus is to create an institution that can outlive its founders. 

“I will be handing over to a chairman, at whatever point I exit from scene, who will be a non-founder. Now, there is no plan B. In case you hand over to someone and it doesn’t work out, there is no plan B. I cannot comeback at 75 or so. I don’t think any of these guys (other founders) want to come back either. [Therefore, the focus is] how do you create institutions that outlive you? How do you create institutions that cross generations? How do you create institutions that move from an ownership model to a professional model? It’s [succession plan] not clear to me, I have not yet found a person whom I can hand over to,” he added. 

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