New Delhi, August 18: Vishal Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys Ltd, has abruptly resigned due to the “continuous assault” and “campaign” by founder and ex-chairman NR Narayana Murthy, the $10 billion firm said Friday.
In his mail to employees, which was also later posted on his blog, Sikka wrote: “…It is clear that despite our successes over the last three years, and the powerful seeds of innovation that we have sown, I cannot carry out my job as CEO and continue to create value, while also constantly defending against unrelenting, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks.”
Sikka, 50, a former German IT major SAP executive under whose three-year tenure the revenue of Infosys rose by about 25 per cent, did not himself name Murthy directly as the reason for his exit but said he faced “false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks”.
Murthy said he was anguished by the allegations, tone and tenor of statements made by the Infosys board. “I voluntarily left the board in 2014 and am not seeking any money, position for children or power. My concern primarily was the deteriorating standard of corporate governance which I have repeatedly brought to the notice of the Infosys board,” Murthy said in an e-mailed statement.
He said he will reply to the board’s allegations in the right manner, right forum and at an appropriate time.
Sikka’s resignation follows a year-long acrimony between the board the high-profile founders led by Murthy, who raised issues of “poor corporate governance” and executive pay as well as doubts over acquisitions.
Infy stock crashes, market slumps
Vishal Sikka’s surprise resignation as Infosys CEO Friday threw markets off-track as the Sensex careened off 271 points while the Nifty managed to end above 9,800.
The fast-paced developments at India’s second-largest IT firm were the talking point throughout as the stock took a severe beating dragging down the markets. It ended up as the biggest loser on the 30-share Sensex map — sinking as much as 9.60 per cent to Rs 923.10, the lowest since May 2, 2017.Intra-day, it had even hit a 52-week low, but then recovered somewhat.
The company’s market valuation slumped Rs 22,518.98 crore to Rs 2,12,033.02 crore.
After three straight sessions of gains, the Sensex opened lower and dropped further before ending down 270.78 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 31,524.68. It had rallied 581.87 points in the previous three sessions.
Buyback plans to go as scheduled
Infosys Friday said that there is no change in its buyback plans, under which it could return as much as Rs 13,000 crore to its shareholders. The board of the embattled company is scheduled to meet Friday to consider the buyback proposal.
“There is no change in buyback plans. We have made a commitment on how much and when to return cash to shareholders,” Infosys board Chairman R Seshasayee said at a conference.
Will Nandan Nilekani be back
With Infosys’ first non-founder CEO Vishal Sikka calling it quits, an investor advisory firm Friday favoured Nandan Nilekani — one of the most high-profile founders of the IT firm — being brought back on its board as its non-executive chairman.
The Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) said the Infosys board has been unable to protect its CEO and to select a successor it must begin by reinventing itself.
Nilekani was one of the seven founders that set up Infosys more than three decades ago and served as its CEO between March 2002 to April 2007. Agencies
