As expected, the board of directors on Infosys on Saturday met and announced K

RELATED ARTICLES Nasscom guidance is ambitious: Infosys Infosys top management salary bill crosses $10 million Murthy formula for private push to higher education Infosys may ink pact with NICTA for research work Infosys woes prompt calls for change at top

V Kamath as the Chairman of the board while that NRN Murthy, who co-founded the company in 1981, has been appointed Chairman Emeritus.

The Chairman Emeritus position was offered to Murthy in recognition of his founding of the company, mentoring his co-founders and nurturing the organisation over the past 30 years.

Kundapur Vaman Kamath, the non-executive chairman of the board of directors of ICICI Bank, India’s second largest bank, is the first non-founding chairman in the history of the 30-year-old technology giant.

S Gopalakrishnan, the current managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), has been named the Co-Chairman of the board. Gopalakrishnan (Kris to his colleagues) along with NR Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys.

SD Shibulal, the current chief operating officer, has been named as the new CEO and Managing Director.

Shibulal, one of the co-founders of the $6 billion company and member of the board of directors, in fact left the company for a five-year sabbatical with Sun Microsystems between 1991 and 1996. In 1997, on his return to Infosys, Shibu established and headed the internet consultancy practice and then went up the ranks.

The appointments announced on Saturday would be effective from August 21, Infosys said in a statement.

“I am thankful to the nominations committee for doing an admirable job of succession planning and continuing the Infosys tradition of a sound succession strategy. I am glad they have found a perfect team to strengthen customer, investor and employee connect on the one-hand, and world-class board governance on the other hand,” Murthy said.

Murthy, who borrowed money from his wife Sudha to start today’s 1.3 lakh employee firm, said Kamath (in his opinion) is one of the finest corporate leaders of modern India.

He also had words of praise for Kris and Shibu. “Kris has demonstrated high-class performance during testing times for the industry and the company. I congratulate Shibu on being appointed the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. I have no doubt he will do an excellent job like Kris did. Vaman, Kris and Shibu will make an ideal team.”

The decision of the board is based on the recommendations of the nomination committee. Professor Jeffrey S Lehman, chairman of the nominations committee, said, “This is a great moment for Infosys. These three leaders meld an extraordinary range of talents and experiences with a united commitment to drive the company to unprecedented levels of accomplishment while remaining true to its historic values. We could not be in better hands.”

Speaking on the occasion KV Kamath said, “Infosys is a company which has been built by its founders, led by the visionary leader NR Narayana Murthy, who as its chief executive officer & managing director and then as its chairman and chief mentor, provided Infosys its thought leadership over the years.”

Speaking about Infosys, he said, this is an innovation-led company, with a core of outstanding professionals that has always set the highest standards and has built a unique culture. “I feel greatly honoured to have been asked to be the Chairman of Infosys by the Board of Directors and accept this responsibility with a deep sense of humility,” Kamath said.

Kris has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director since June 22, 2007. He said he is happy and honoured that the board has requested him to take on the responsibility of executive co-chairman.

“I look forward to working with Vaman and Shibu, post August 20, when NR Narayana Murthy retires from the board as chairman and chief mentor. Our goal is to strengthen and grow Infosys further while maintaining the trust and confidence reposed in us by all the stakeholders – clients, employees, investors and shareholders, vendor-partners, the government of the land, and society,” said the Padma Bhushan awardee.

SD Shibulal complimented Kris’ work. “Under Kris’s leadership, Infosys has scaled greater heights and has become a respected global brand. We are also making other organisational changes to strengthen our market position and ability to serve our clients better,” said Shibu, who has a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Kerala and a MS in Computer Science from the University of Boston.

kumarsroy@mydigitalfc.com