Despite a bitter legal battle, Rajiv Bansal still grateful to Infosys

Once a blue-eyed boy, his exit changed the narrative of the nature of his association with Infosys. But Bansal doesn't shy away from giving credit to his former employer where it is due

He may have been involved in a bitter legal battle with Infosys, but Rajiv Bansal, 47, the former chief financial officer of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm doesn’t hesitate to give credit where it is due for what he is today to his former employer. Even though Bansal has parted ways from the IT services major since October 2015, his wife continues to work with the company. After Bansal won the arbitration battle with Infosys on Tuesday, he termed the whole episode “unfortunate,” and added philosophically that one has to face the crests and troughs of life with equanimity. 

Bansal is no ordinary accountant. He was still working with Tata Technologies as a finance manager back in 1999 when he was discovered by one of the founders of Infosys who took time to convince him to join the Benagluru company. Infosys those days was not even a known brand. Bansal, who had just spent close to five years in the industry, immediately agreed. In a span of two years, he was selected as one of the future leaders of Infosys by then chief human resources officer Hema Ravichandar. 

It was no mean feat for Bansal, given that this programme was directly driven by founder N R Narayana Murthy. As time passed, he went on to rise on the corporate ladder. During his 19 years with the company, he was groomed by successive chief financial officers, starting from T V Mohandas Pai to V Balakrishnan. In the process, he mastered the entire terms of the trade that no academic achievement could ever impart. From the very beginning, Infosys had laid down gold standards in corporate governance, which still remains one of the best in the industry.

His professional journey in Infosys in some ways is also reflective of the rise of the Indian economy. In the late nineties, when the economy was slowly opening up, he joined Infosys when it had a revenue of around $120 million and a staff strength of 5,000. When he left the company in 2015, the revenue had grown 70 times to touch $8.5 billion, while the employee count had crossed 200,000. “I feel very proud to be a part of this iconic journey. Whatever I am today, it’s because of Infosys and its founders,” he told Business Standard . “Their personal touch was amazing, which has made me who I am. You have to appreciate what they have done for you.” 

A brilliant student all through, Bansal was a rank holder throughout his educational career. He was not only a rank holder in class 12, he also stood among the toppers when he graduated. A cost accountant and chartered accountant by profession, Bansal was a gold medalist in the all India cost accountancy examination, securing the third rank overall. And, undoubtedly, Bansal’s academic prowess got a solid backing at Infosys where he worked under the benign guidance of industry leaders like Murthy and KV Kamath among others.

“Rajiv (Bansal) never had the air of being the CFO of a big company like Infosys. He is very humble and grounded, and a team player who always maintained a low profile when compared to his predecessors,” said a person close to Bansal. 

Even his professional expertise was beyond question. Bansal took over as CFO in November 2012 when the company was in turmoil. There were quite a few board level changes, and growth was slowing even as investor activism was on the rise. “We had to navigate through turbulent times. And, during my stint as CFO, I am happy that we were able to stabilise the functions,” Bansal said. 

During his three-year stint as CFO, market cap almost doubled. Many analysts credit Bansal for the changing stance of Infosys with respect to margin, infusing the element of flexibility. 

“Earlier CFOs were rigid about the margin. It was only during Bansal’s time that Infosys for the first time acknowledged the importance of adopting a flexible approach to margins for growing business,” said a senior analyst working with a global 

research firm.

However, his exit from Infosys and the subsequent controversies surrounding his severance package have changed the narrative of his nature of association with Infosys.  

“The whole journey was a great learning experience for me. You learn every day, you learn from every interaction. At the end of the day, one has to believe in oneself. What has happened in the last three years is unfortunate, but I am happy about the result (arbitration verdict),” says Bansal.

Even though the company has not said it, it is largely believed that Bansal’s exit was due to  differences with the management over the acquisition of Israeli company Panaya. He was the one who is said to have objected to the price that Infosys was offering for the asset, but he could not muster enough support to derail the deal. The acrimony with the management reached such a point that he had to call it a day. He was subsequently offered a hefty severance package of Rs 174 million, equivalent to 24 months of salary, which sparked a huge controversy leading to a bitter boardroom battle that resulted in withholding a major part of the severance pay. This snowballed into a full-blown legal battle that Bansal seems to have won for the time being.

These days Bansal spends a lot of time with family and friends and is yet to decide on his next course of action. “Life has many dimensions beyond work. Currently, I am advising startups in personal capacity. I have not thought of what next as of now,” he says.