BENGALURU: On Wednesday, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy publicly admitted that he was mistaken in his long-held belief that founders' children should not be involved in the business. He claimed that his decision to exclude the next-generation promoter group from Infosys was incorrect. Murthy was of the opinion that Infosys should keep the children of its promoters out of management positions because the company is professionally managed. That was completely incorrect of me. This organization was missing legitimate talent because of me. I retract everything I said. At a press conference in Bangalore for Infosys' 40th anniversary celebrations, he stated, "I think every individual should have the same opportunity as every other individual if he or she is considered the best person for that role."
He stated, "I probably embraced that idea at that point in time because I was afraid some people might bring in undeserving candidates and put them in positions, and I wanted the organization's future to be strong." When offered a position, competence, according to Murthy, should take precedence over everything else. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of Infosys, stated, "We should not practice reverse discrimination" in response to the same question.
The 40th anniversary celebration, postponed by a year due to the pandemic, served as a sort of reunion for the founders, who gathered on the dais to talk about the past. Infosys — brought into the world from an onebedroom loft with a seed capital of Rs 10,000 acquired from Murthy's better half Sudha Murty — has turned into a worldwide tech brand with an income of more than $17 billion and a market cap of $78 billion.
When Nilekani returned to the company in 2017, he stated that he could not accept Infosys becoming a reality show. There is no arrangement B for when I leave. I am responsible for a lot. How can I guarantee that my handover will continue throughout the journey's 100 years? If it is necessary, I will be present. However, he stated, "I don't want to be here for that long looking at the 50th anniversary."
Nilekani stated that his difficulty is severe. At whatever point I leave the scene, I will have a chairman who is not a founder. Through a professional model, Nilekani stated that he would like Infosys to develop into an institution that outlives founders and generations. I haven't found anyone I can hand off to yet.
To move the business into the next phase of expansion, Nilekani stated that comprehensive succession planning is required. Every chairman and CEO combination should have the same level of trust and working relationship as Salil (Parekh) and I do. We must implement a continuous transition. That requires a lot of planning. However, that is my objective," Nilekani added.
Murthy praised Nilekani and Parekh for revitalizing the business and accelerating growth over the past five years. These two individuals and the accomplishments of their teams make me so proud. A huge thank you to these two people, "he said. Nilekani compared Murthy to the corporate version of Zubin Mehta because of his love of western classical music and ability to identify talent and form teams.
Nilekani said Infosys has followed the 3Rs — pertinence, flexibility, and responsiveness — in soul and practice. " To survive in business, you must be relevant. Nilekani stated, "We want to be a boring, no drama, no surprises company."