Murthy getting formal role at Infosys? No such intention, clarifies board

Vishal Sikka quit as Infosys CEO citing co-founder Murthy's continuous assault as the main reason

The battle between Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Vishal Sikka, the first non- founder CEO of the company, took a new turn on Friday, with the latter deciding to resign with immediate effect. Sikka cited 'false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks' on him as the reason for quitting the job. While the Infosys board accepted his resignation, it clarified had no intention of asking the co-founder to play a formal role in the governance of the organisation.

In a BSE filing, the company said, "given the commitment of the board to remain independent and pursue a chosen strategy, the board currently has no intention of asking Mr Murthy to play a formal role in the governance of the organisation".

"Co-chair of the board, Ravi Venkatesan has over the past few weeks repeatedly and publicly stated his and the board's support for Sikka. The company categorically rejects any speculation or allegation of discord between the Infosys board and Sikka", the company said.

Infosys co-founder Murthy's "continuous assault", including his latest letter, is the primary reason why Vishal Sikka resigned as the company's chief executive officer and managing director, the IT-major said in a press release sent to the BSE.

Much has been said on the board-level tensions now on between Murthy and the board and Sikka, a software product wizard who built gee-whiz products for German giant SAP, where he was the first-ever chief technology officer. Murthy and others had earlier questioned the high compensation paid to Sikka, as also the severance package given to some former executives.

Also, an anonymous letter was sent to the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, had alleged that the acquisition of Israel-based Panaya was overvalued and that some Infosys executives might have benefited from the deal.

While an independent probe absolved the board of any wrongdoing, Murthy kept building the pressure for the full contents of the investigation report to be made public.