Nandan Nilekani will bring back 'acche din' to Infosys, says Narayana Murthy

Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy on Tuesday backed Nandan Nilekani, who was recently appointed as non-executive chairman of the company, and hopes that the 62-year-old will fix corporate governance lapses prevailing in the company.

Nilekani is a "stickler for corporate governance", the Infosys co-founder told investors at a conference call hosted by Investec India.

Soon after Nilekani took charge, the board was reconstituted with the stepping down of co-chairman R Seshasayee and former CEO Vishal Sikka along with two independent directors —Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy. Another co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan also vacated his position but would continue on the board as independent director.

"You would all agree that the rejuvenation of the board has already begun with the resignation of Mr R Seshasayee and some other board members. However, it is still a work in progress," Murthy added.

Speaking of the Panaya deal, the co-founder said he hopes that Nilekani would do the right thing with the report of investigation. Infosys had purchased the Israeli firm in 2015.

Nilekani has so far declined to comment on the deal and said that the board decided that he as a non-executive chairman will get a full briefing on the investigations and "the appropriate course of action will be decided."

"Like any other concerned and logical shareholder of the company, my hope was that the detailed report would contain a full rebuttal of the claims of the whistleblower that I have quoted earlier. I was also hoping that the full report would point out gaps in governance and suggest corrective actions. These are the only reasons why I asked for the full report to be disclosed," Murthy said.

"In the absence of full disclosure, it is difficult to believe that, under the previous board, 'Infosys has continued to maintain the highest standards of corporate governance that the company is known for'."

"At this critical juncture of the company, I am pleased that Mr. Nandan Nilekani has taken over as the Chairman of Infosys representing ALL shareholders. I have known Nandan for over 38 years ever since he walked into my office for a job. He is also a value-based person. I am confident that the management team and the professionals at Infosys will rally behind Nandan and bring back the glory days," he added.

To conclude the co-founder said, "I wish Nandan the best of everything in his effort to bring back Acche Din to Infosys."