Nandan Nilekani gives way to Kris

BANGALORE: In a move that took the industry and markets by surprise, Infosys announced today changes in its executive posts. Nandan Nilekani, the current CEO and MD, has been appointed to the post of co-chairman of the Board of Directors. The board also announced its choice of the new CEO, Kris Gopalakrishnan and SD Shibulal as the new COO.

Announcing these changes, NR Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor said, "Nandan who has been a hugely successful CEO has chosen to give up his position in order to take the company to more desirable destinations."

Nilekani had expressed his intention to give up his CEO post last fall and the Board took around 6-7 months to deliberate on the changes to be made. Explaining the rationale behind his decision, Nilekani said, "I wanted to demonstrate and walk the talk about the importance of collective leadership and go beyond individual leadership. Secondly, in 2002, Murthy resigned from his CEO position while he still had four more years before retirement. I wanted to bring back that model."

He added that the main reason for his move was to demonstrate by leading by example. "In this age of cronyism, dynastic leadership and patronage, we wanted to walk the talk by demonstrating that it is possible to create institutions in India that practice meritocracy."

In his new role as co-chairman, Nilekani will focus on key client relationships, be a brand ambassador, deal with broad industry issues, provide global thought leadership and contribute to strategy.

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