Infosys' R&D arm chief Goparaju quits

Announcement comes amid rumours of company downsizing Infosys Labs

In yet another senior-level exit, Infosys, the country’s second largest information technology company, announced on Thursday the resignation of its senior vice-president and head of Infosys Labs, Subrahmanyam (‘Subu’) Goparaju.

“This has been on my mind for some time and just got executed now,” Goparaju told Business Standard. “This was my first job and I have completed 25 years here. Now, I want to pursue some personal interests.”

The announcement comes amid rumour that the Bangalore-based company is in the process of downsizing Infosys Labs, its research and development (R&D) arm, and moving employees to billable projects to tap revenue-generating opportunities. Infosys Labs had around 600 employees, focused on developing proprietary software technologies. According to sources, the team has been reduced to around 150 people.

In October, Goparaju was inducted into the Executive Council (EC), the top strategic decision making body at the company, along with 11 others. He’d also started and heads the Intellectual Property Cell of the company and was responsible for all external research relationships with universities, research institutes and consortia.

“His last day with Infosys will be December 27,” Infosys stated. “We would like to thank Subu for his contribution and leadership, especially in building Infosys Labs.”

It has appointed Savio D’Souza to manage Infosys Labs’ service differentiation platforms group, and Anindya Sircar to manage the IP Cell, the statement said. “Both, Savio and Sircar will report to Chandrashekar Kakal (head of global delivery).”

Prasad Joshi  will lead the Technology Centers of Excellence and report to Pravin Rao (global head for retail, consumer packaged goods, logistics and life sciences).

Since the return of N R Narayana Murthy in June, as executive chairman, Infosys has seen a slew of exits. Among others, it saw the departure of global sales head Basab Pradhan and the head of Americas and global manufacturing, Ashok Vemuri, who moved to join rival iGate. The company has also seen exits of the North America head for financial services, Sudhir Chaturvedi, who joined NIIT Technologies.