Turning a new leaf: The year of goodbyes & comebacks

The year 2013 saw some high-profile exits, including of sports legend Sachin Tendulkar and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, even as a few like N R Narayana Murthy made a comeback, to steer software firm, Infosys, out of a storm in his case.

While a lot of Indians shed tears for Tendulkar, leaving the game after he crossed the age of 40, Murthy's comeback as Infosys' executive chairman in June received a rousing welcome from investors, with the shares registering a 45 per cent jump since he took charge.

Murthy came back after the company had repeatedly missed revenue targets and lost key orders to other players like TCS and Cognizant. Though Murthy's entry led to many top-level exits, including of CEO aspirant Ashok Vemuri and CFO V Balakrishnan, the company is now perceived as back on track.

Another humiliating CEO exit this year was of Phaneesh Murthy, as the CEO of iGate in May, following charges of sexual harassment. This was the second time Murthy had to quit his job after Infosys sacked him in 2002 after a similar allegation. Murthy has now sued iGate, claiming the board was aware of his "consensual" affair with a subordinate. The company held back his stock options worth $17.5 million.

In the same month, Nusli Wadia, chairman of Britannia Industries, decided to make an important change in the biscuit major. He asked former Pepsi hand and COO of Britannia Varun Berry to take over the day-to-day operations of the company, after incumbent Vinita Bali was elevated to oversee the international operations. This was after Britannia's margins started falling, following steep competition from ITC and Parle.