Mumbai: Infosys board on Friday came out in full support of outgoing leader Vishal Sikka and said he is not only a “phenomenal technician” but also “a high-performance CEO.”
As for the media, Ravi Venkatesan, the Independent Director and Co-President of Infosys referred to comments from founder Narayana Murthy that Sikka was “CTO” material and not CEO stuff.
Venkatesan called Sikka a “thought leader” for industry and business. “He made sure that Infosys was strategically relevant and sowed seeds for the transformation of Infosys,” he said.
Switching from Sikka to executive vice president of CEO will not make any difference in his commitment to the company, said President R Seshasayee.
This bitter corporate drama began on Friday morning with Infosys announcing the resignation of top man Vishal Sikka as CEO and MD.
The defense of the junta in favor of Sikka came in the light of Sikka stating that he was “besieged by false, unfounded, malicious and increasingly personal attacks.” In a statement to the stock exchanges, the board of directors of the company had also criticized founder Narayana Murthy for his continued assault on Sikka.
The board also thanked Sikka for agreeing to remain executive vice president and “ensuring continuity.” It will continue to take care of Infosys strategic execution and customer relations.
Calling Infosys an “iconic company”, Sikka recalled that: “I signed up for cultural transformation, interruption, and transformation of the company, at which time Infosys and the IT industry were going through a difficult time.” He said he was very proud of his team’s phenomenal work to make Infosys a market leader.
Sikka’s mandate at the company had been attacked by founders like Narayana Murthy on issues such as salary, corporate governance, and acquisitions. His last months as the CEO also coincided with a furious crisis in the IT industry as a whole. In his speech Friday, Sikka said: “Last year we saw some winds against geopolitical crises, the status of visas, but everyone has to deal with it.”
Referring to Murthy’s allegations, Sikka said it was no longer possible to deal with “continuous allegations, continuous noise.” He said that these interruptions weighed him and were against the interest of the company.
Sikka also said that his resignation will be a new start for the company. He said the business will continue as usual and will be there to help the company in any way it can.
Supporting Sikka, Ravi Venkatesan said the council will continue to follow the “strategic direction” of the outgoing boss. He also said he has “no interest” in being the next CEO.
President, R Seshayee ruled out putting Infosys’s proposed repurchase on the back burner.
