Reimagining Infosys: Nandan Nilekani has to restore credibility

He may have joined Infosys at 26 and rejoined at 62, but Nandan Nilekani clearly hasn’t lost any of his old traits: Combative (some questions from the media on Friday were dismissed with disdain); clear-headed and diplomatic (over the weekend, he has already given the world enough idea about his course of action without giving away anything specific); confident (he has repeatedly asserted that he will take all the critical decisions and wants everybody to leave him alone); consensus-builder (he has talked about using his skills as a unifier) and loyal (he has described NR Narayana Murthy as the father of corporate governance in India and got the board to issue an apology letter of sorts to Mr Murthy).

Among his other priorities are identifying a managing director and putting in place a long-term corporate governance structure. It is also obvious that Mr Nilekani will re-examine all the initiatives started by Vishal Sikka during his three-year-long “new and renew” approach. But his overall message is important: He has hit the ground running on the important task of rebuilding Infosys. In what is possibly its worst hour of crisis, Infosys needs such a strong and widely admired man at the top who has impeccable credentials and knows the company inside out, having been one of its founders and chief executive for five years.

However, even Mr Nilekani might find the task hugely challenging. For example, while putting in place a “long-term governance structure” is a laudable idea, he has to sort out an immediate and complex task at hand. While he has skilfully deflected all queries in this regard, saying he would first get a full briefing on the Panaya investigations before taking an appropriate course of action, he has to walk a tightrope. The stand-off between the board and Mr Murthy turned into a full-blown crisis after the latter demanded a public disclosure of the investigation report relating to the $200-million acquisition of the start-up. As non-executive chairman, he has to now decide whether the report can indeed be made public as it might violate client confidentiality agreements. Besides, he will have to find a way to attract talent to a company that has been in a state of turbulence for quite some time; where the founders have come back twice in the past four years and still want to have a strong say in how Infosys should be run.

But the thing going for Mr Nilekani is that he is seen as someone whom the co-founders, led by Mr Murthy, would listen to. After all, amid all the boardroom acrimony, Mr Nilekani maintained a studied silence that now weighs in his favour and conflicting parties will give him the benefit of the doubt initially. His biggest challenge would be that he is returning to an Infosys that is different from the one he left a decade ago. The company is facing unprecedented challenges: The traditional outsourcing business faces a margin squeeze and newer ventures have yet to make money. Steering Infosys through its transformation and getting growth while minimising the effects of its internal turmoil and restoring credibility will require herculean efforts.