Murthy spent sleepless nights over Pai rap

Following allegations by a senior colleague about co-founders calling the shots when it comes to a significant decision, Infosys chairman and chief mentor N. R. Narayana Murthy has expressed his anguish.

In his farewell letter to shareholders published in the company’s annual report for 2010-11, Murthy penned down the painful moments he experienced when he was accused of violating the company’s high-standards of business ethics.

“Accepting the resignation of a senior colleague and dealing with the instance where our code of ethics was jeopardised were tests of adherence to our values. Deliberating all alone on the resignation offer a co-founder is not something I would wish even upon my enemy. Being accused of violating our own high standards of business ethics recently made me lose several nights of sleep," Murthy said. The Infosys co-founder who is set to bid adieu to the company on August 20, after over three decades of service to the company.

Last month, T V Mohandas Pai, a board member and Infosys’ Head of HR and Administration, had quit the organisation after he was denied the CEO’s post. He had later vented out his anger by criticising the policy of selecting co-founders for the top post.

While reacting to Pai’s outburst, Murthy had said that he (Pai) should be forgiven for making such emotional statements.

“We must be very kind to him (Pai) because at times, we all lose our rational thinking and make an emotionally-made statement,” he said.

Murthy has made it clear in the letter to shareholders that he had never craved for money and had taken a huge cut in his salary (from what he was getting at Patni Computer Systems) when he founded Infosys. While the other co-founders were given at least a 10 per cent increase in their salaries. “The point I would like to make is that such acts demonstrate that our leaders walked the talk in sacrifice and commitment.”

Murthy, who will continue to be the single largest share-holder in the company in the promoters’ group, was given a commission of Rs 61 lakh in 2010-11 — an increase of Rs 4 lakh over the previous year.