After staying away from Infosys for over eight years, co-founder Nandan Nilekani on Thursday was appointed non-executive chairman of the company.
Speaking on an investors' call on Friday morning, Nilekani said: "I plan to be here as long as necessary and I will not be here as soon as as I'm not necessary."
Joined @Infosys at 26, re-joined it at 62. Life does turn full circle!
— Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) August 25, 2017
Soon after Nilekani took the charge on Friday morning, a rejig in the company board started with co-chairman R Seshasayee and former CEO Vishal Sikka, along with independent board members Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy.
Another co-founder, Ravi Venkatesan, also stepped down from the company board, but would continue in the board as independent director.
After Sikka resigned as the CEO and managing director of Infosys on August 18, he was appointed as the executive vice-chairman of the tech giant.
With Nilekani at the helm of India's second-largest software exporter and re-constitution of the board, it's likely the very long tussle between another co-founder Murthy and the Infosys board over corporate governance will come to an end.
A statement released by the Bangalore-based IT major quoted Nilekani as saying that the board would engage with shareholders on priority basis as part of its engagement with stakeholders.
Key highlights of the investor call
* Infosys will announce some quick decision in next few days.
* Nilekani's main focus will be to search for a new CEO.
* Nilekani said the CEO search will be global, open to external candidates, within the current management and at the Infosys Alumni.
* Reconstituting the board and re-stabilising Infosys' business are the priority.
Infosys board after re-constitution
* Pravin Rao, Interim CEO and MD
* Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman
* Roopa Kudva, Independent Director
* Punita Kumar, Independent Director
* Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Independent Director
* DN Prahlad, Independent Director
* D Sundaram, Independent Director
* Ravi Venkatesan, Independent Director
Earlier on Thursday, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) wrote a letter to the Infosys board to bring back former co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
The letter, signed by 12 investors from mutual fund houses and insurance companies, said Nilekani would be the right person to facilitate "resolution" of the ongoing issues between the board and the management.
"In our opinion, he enjoys the confidence of various stakeholders viz, customers, shareholders and employees," the letter stated.
The ugly spat between Murthy and the company board, which resulted in the exit of Sikka, eroded over Rs 32,000 crore of the company's market capitalisations.
