I will be at Infosys as long as necessary, and not longer than that: Nilekani

Infosys LIVE updates: Thanks to Murthy, Nandan Nilekani is back at Infosys for his second innings

6:56 PM

Nilekani: There is an age limit on the board. Apart from that, I see myself here not as a co-founder reclaiming the company. I see myself as a co-founder who was here and proud of it, but left 10 years ago. I see my role now in working with the board and help get the right CEO in, and bring a balance.

6:53 PM

Nilekani on Vishal Sikka and his legacy:
Mr Sikka was a technological visionary and he did many great things. We will take stock of all that we have. This will be version 1.0 to start with, and when we have the next CEO on board, he can take things forward and create the next version.

6:52 PM

Nilekani on the three main things to do in the next year:

One: CEO search, which we have already initiated
Two: Strategy for a balanced board, which we have started work on already
Three: Review of technology, and we have again stated work on that

There is no time limit on my presence at the company as a chairman.
I am very successful person even outside of the company, so I am not seeking to be here for very long.
I will be here as long as necessary and not longer than that.

6:51 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Creating a stable organisation, stable board, choosing a CEO who is culturally compatible with the company are the main responsibilities as of now

6:49 PM

Nilekani: One of our goals now is to come up with a long-term governance structure for the board. Governance is not just about technology. There is a lot of digital disruption happening today, agreed. But there is a lot of judgement that needs to be done.

6:47 PM

Nilekani: There is no hard and fast rule that the CEO must be an internal candidate. There are instances globally on both sides. At Microsoft, you had Steve Ballmer on the one hand and internal candidate Satya Nadella on the other. Both options have their merits. I hesitate to have a premeditated bias on this. If we have a suitable internal candidate, I am all for it. There is no idealogical question here

6:45 PM

Nilekani: I think Infosys has had a great leadership pipeline and definitely internal candidates will be solid contenders for the CEO's post. I am really looking forward to that.

6:44 PM

Nilekani: The choice of the next CEO is important also because he or she must be right, not only in expertise but also in culture fit

6:42 PM

Nilekani: I am sure my long-term colleague, Mr U B Pravin Rao, will very efficiently run the company till the time we have the next CEO. 

6:41 PM

Nilekani on the timeline for Infosys new CEO search: I came on board only yesterday and already we have appointed an agency and we have Kiran Mazumdar Shaw to oversee the recruitment process. So, we have hit the ground running. At some point, the nomination committee and I will get involved. The choice of the next CEO is going to be very, very important.

6:40 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Today is the occasion only to articulate the changes at the Infosys board. Will be happy to take questions and discuss questions on startegy of the company in October.

6:35 PM

Nandan Nilekani: I look forward to working with Mr Murthy.

6:34 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Will seek advice from Murthy but the final call will be taken by the board

6:34 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Mr Murthy is in the league of iconic founders, such as of IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft

6:31 PM

Nandan Nilekani: I have come here to take stock and go forward. I am sure we will have a good list of candidates who want to be CEO. There is excitement among people to take up this role. We need someone who has expertise in managing a large corporate, understands technology and good execution skills. Someone who is a consensus builder and has a sense of the cultural transformation that is required in Infosys

6:30 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Extremely confident that we will have a good list of internal and external candidates. We need someone with an expertise to manage a large global corporation, someone who can strategise and execute. These are a few attributes to look for in a new CEO

6:26 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Mr Sikka was a very good technocrat who understood what's happening in the world of automation. Going ahead, we will look business strategies in detail and unveil plans in October

6:25 PM

Nandan Nilekani: I will approach all investigations with a dispassionate mind. We will make full disclosure

6:23 PM

Nandan Nilekani: We had 600 people on the morning call today, and 200 are there on this call. We will make sure our investors and stakeholders are on board on what all we are doing

6:22 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Over the next 2 weeks, our HR (department) will reach out to the employees and update them on what's happening

6:22 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Will reach out to a number of shareholders in the next few days and to get feedback from them

6:21 PM

Nandan Nilekani: It is premature for me to speak on strategy. It has been over 10 years since I left Infosys to do a national job. We will look at customer demand. In the October board meeting, we will be articulate better where we are on strategy

6:17 PM

Nandan Nilekani: Mr Murthy is the biggest corporate giant of the last 100 years. I will make sure that he is accorded due respect

6:17 PM

Nandan Nilekani: I am here because multiple stakeholders thought that I would be able to do this job. In my career, I have been seen as a consensus builder

6:17 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: Will ensure Murthy is given the respect he deserves

6:16 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: Murthy is a great visionary and I vouch for it, having started my career as a software engineer decades ago under him

6:14 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: It should be clear that the board has no intention of taking on Murthy. We all value him immensely. It will be my endeavour to maintain a healthy relationship with Murthy.

6:13 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: It is unfortunate that some differences have cropped up in recent past between Narayana Murthy and the board

6:11 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: Venkatesan and Prahlad will take the stock of the situation of the company and come out with a strategic plan

6:10 PM

Infosys Concall

Nandan Nilekani: The board and investors agree that the company now has stable leadership