Returning to his home turf, Infosys after eight long years to take over as non-executive chairman, Nandan Nilekani attended an investor call -- his first task -- on Friday morning.
"I like to believe that I am here as more than just a founder. After resigning from Infosys eight years back, I have done fairly significant work. I was invited to the board by all parties and I assume people see me as a unifying and holistic person and I believe I am. This is about consensus building," Nilekani said.
Soon after Nilekani took charge on Friday morning, a rejig in the company board started with co-chairman R Seshasayee and former CEO Vishal Sikka stepping down from the Infosys board along with independent board members Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy. Another co-founder Ravi Venkatesan also stepped down from the company board but will continue as an independent director.
Here are the some of the key highlights from Nandan Nilekani's investor call:
On Infosys hereafter
"Nothing will make me happier than putting things in a super stable, high growth path." - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
On support from promoters and board
"I have the full support of the board, of Mr Murthy, of all the promoters." - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
On machine learning
"Machine learning is becoming fundamentally transformative in every industry. The board will discuss on how best to integrate the artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives taken by Vishal Sikka." - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
On Panaya investigations
"I need to figure out what has happened, what the lapses were, if any. This is a parallel process that we will do, because these are concerns raised by an important stakeholder. So absolutely in the next few months we will look into all these issues and we will bring them to closure to the satisfaction of all stakeholders and without violating corporate governance." - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
On his comeback
"I plan to be here as long as necessary and I will not be here as soon as I'm not necessary," - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
On CEO search
"Will look for new CEO from within and outside the company; will also consider Infosys alumni. Very confident that we have a large pool of internal and external candidates for the CEO post." - Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys
