Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy scored a victory over company chairman R Seshasayee, after the software exporter appointed independent board member Ravi Venkatesan as co-chairman, to help the management execute its strategy.
Venkatesan has been among the key negotiators with Murthy after he raised concerns over governance issues at Infosys and sought that Seshasayee should be held accountable. While not seeking Seshasayee's resignation, Murthy had asked for another eminent person to be made co-chairman.
"Ravi will help me enhance the board engagement in supporting the Management in execution of company’s strategy,” said R. Seshasayee, Chairman of the Board in a statement.
In February, Murthy had publicly gone against Seshasayee and the Infosys board saying the company had failed on governance issues over the severance pay given to former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal. He had pointed that Seshasayee "must accept their mistakes and show contrition" and sought appointment of Marti Subramanyam, a former director as co-chairman.
Infosys had earlier appointed D N Prahlad, a former employee who was recommended by Murthy to the board.
Venkatesan, currently the chairman of Bank of Baroda, is a former chairman of Microsoft in India, driving the company's strategy to the global software major. He is also a board member at the Rockfeller foundation and has authored a book on "Conquering the Chaos - Win in India, Win Everywhere," which talks of building products and solutions for India, which can be taken to other markets in the world.
“This is an exciting time for the technology industry and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work more closely with Sesh and with Vishal and his leadership team in their transformational journey”, said Ravi Venkatesan, Co-Chairman.
Murthy has continued to maintain that Infosys has diluted governance standards, which he raised again last month, as he protested against the salary hike to Pravin Rao, chief operating officer.
