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
 "narayana murthy, infosys")
Infosys press conference LIVE: A decade after leaving, Nandan Nilekani is back at the helm of Infosys and will remain the software giant’s chairman for two years. In an investors’ call, which is currently underway, Nilekani says the hunt for the company’s CEO, a post vacated by Vishal Sikka recently, will be a “global one”. The board of Indian IT services company Infosys Ltd appointed Nilekani as chairman on Thursday. Nilekani, one of the seven engineers who founded Infosys in 1981 and was its CEO from 2002 to 2007, will take over as non-executive chairman and non-independent director with immediate effect, the company said in a statement to stock exchanges. Nilekani claimed he is a consensus builder who will engage with all stakeholders, which is proved by the unanimous support of the Infosys board, its founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, global and domestic investors, and employees.
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.
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.
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
Topics :
Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel
First Published: Aug 25 2017 | 6:59 PM IST
