Kris to take over as Infosys CEO

In keeping with its tradition of passing on the leadership position, Infosys Technologies CEO and Managing Director Nandan M Nilekani will make way for its current COO S Gopalakrishnan (Kris), effective June 22. Nilekani will be elevated as the company' co-chairman. Nilekani had taken over as the CEO in 2002.

Company's founder director S D Shibulal, who is the head of sales and customer delivery, will take over as the COO. Infosys Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy will continue to be its non-executive chairman.

Commenting on the top management changes, Murthy said Nilekani had voluntarily decided, at a young age (he is 52), to pass on the baton to a worthy successor, Gopalakrishnan, as chosen by the board. "Kris is gentle but firm, consultative yet decisive and thoughtful yet action-oriented. Shibulal is smart, focused, detailed and target-oriented. I am sure Nandan, Kris and Shibu will together perform extremely well with the high performance team they have," said Murthy. "In my new role, I will focus on key client relationships, be a brand ambassador, deal with broad industry issues, provide global thought leadership, lead some transformation initiatives and contribute to strategy," Nilekani said.

Gopalakrishnan will focus on making the company more competitive, increase productivity, be a leader in corporate governance, attract the best global talent and enhance brand equity. As COO, Shibulal will focus on increasing competitiveness, improve customer experience, enhance employee engagement and boost the depth of services.