Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka's job is in no danger: InGovern founder

The ongoing tussle between Infosys' board and its founders does not pose any immediate threat to Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka's job, though there might be a need for a board reconstitution, said former Infosys executive and InGovern Research Services founder Shriram Subramanian.  

Subramanian's statement comes in reaction to an interview by Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, which included terms not often used in the context of Infosys — such as "hush money".

"I don't think Sikka's job is in danger. I don't think they (founders) want Sikka to go. That would be rocking the boat too much," Subramanian told Business Standard on Friday. He felt that Sikka has the confidence of institutional investors as the financial performance of the company has not been a cause for concern and there was no immediate alternative in sight.

"Also, it is not a complete breakdown. Not a Cyrus vs Tata like situation yet," he said. However, he added that there was considerable pressure on the board and there might be a push for reconstitution of the board as it was perceived that the board had become less communicative and even non-transparent on occasions over the past few months. 

Referring to Murthy's use of the term "hush money", Subramanian said, "That term was not heard before." On criticism against the founders, that they could have taken up the matter more politely, Subramanian said they had written to the board a month ago and the current public discourse seems to have come at the end of those efforts. He added that not only the founders, even the institutional investors should be writing more regularly to the board of their companies and make them more accountable.

"Had they been more proactive, big infrastructure companies, which have been used as personal fiefdoms by their promoters with the help of compliant boards and gone bust, could have survived," he explained. Subramanian said that the Infosys board could make amends by explaining their actions in detail and be more transparent.