Infosys will return up to $2 bn to shareholders; appoints co-chairman

Co finally yielded to pressure for a share buyback from a group of founders and former execs

Infosys, India's second-biggest software services exporter, said on Thursday it would return up to $2 billion to shareholders, yielding to pressure for a share buyback from a group of founders and former executives.

It also announced the appointment of Ravi Venkatesan, an independent director, as co-chairman of the board - part of efforts to address the founders' corporate governance concerns.

Some founders and former executives of the Bengaluru-based company have publicly accused its board of governance lapses and urged it to follow the lead of rival Tata Consultancy Services that announced a $2.4 billion share buyback in February.