6:56 PM Nilekani: There is an age limit on the board. Apart from that, I see myself here not as a co-founder reclaiming the company. I see myself as a co-founder who was here and proud of it, but left 10 years ago. I see my role now in working with the board and help get the right CEO in, and bring a balance.
6:53 PM Nilekani on Vishal Sikka and his legacy:
Mr Sikka was a technological visionary and he did many great things. We will take stock of all that we have. This will be version 1.0 to start with, and when we have the next CEO on board, he can take things forward and create the next version.
6:52 PM Nilekani on the three main things to do in the next year:
One: CEO search, which we have already initiated
Two: Strategy for a balanced board, which we have started work on already
Three: Review of technology, and we have again stated work on that
There is no time limit on my presence at the company as a chairman.
I am very successful person even outside of the company, so I am not seeking to be here for very long.
I will be here as long as necessary and not longer than that.
6:51 PM Nandan Nilekani: Creating a stable organisation, stable board, choosing a CEO who is culturally compatible with the company are the main responsibilities as of now
6:49 PM Nilekani: One of our goals now is to come up with a long-term governance structure for the board. Governance is not just about technology. There is a lot of digital disruption happening today, agreed. But there is a lot of judgement that needs to be done.
6:47 PM Nilekani: There is no hard and fast rule that the CEO must be an internal candidate. There are instances globally on both sides. At Microsoft, you had Steve Ballmer on the one hand and internal candidate Satya Nadella on the other. Both options have their merits. I hesitate to have a premeditated bias on this. If we have a suitable internal candidate, I am all for it. There is no idealogical question here
6:45 PM Nilekani: I think Infosys has had a great leadership pipeline and definitely internal candidates will be solid contenders for the CEO's post. I am really looking forward to that.
6:44 PM Nilekani: The choice of the next CEO is important also because he or she must be right, not only in expertise but also in culture fit
6:42 PM Nilekani: I am sure my long-term colleague, Mr U B Pravin Rao, will very efficiently run the company till the time we have the next CEO.
6:41 PM Nilekani on the timeline for Infosys new CEO search: I came on board only yesterday and already we have appointed an agency and we have Kiran Mazumdar Shaw to oversee the recruitment process. So, we have hit the ground running. At some point, the nomination committee and I will get involved. The choice of the next CEO is going to be very, very important.
6:40 PM Nandan Nilekani: Today is the occasion only to articulate the changes at the Infosys board. Will be happy to take questions and discuss questions on startegy of the company in October.
6:35 PM Nandan Nilekani: I look forward to working with Mr Murthy.
6:34 PM Nandan Nilekani: Will seek advice from Murthy but the final call will be taken by the board
6:34 PM Nandan Nilekani: Mr Murthy is in the league of iconic founders, such as of IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft
6:31 PM Nandan Nilekani: I have come here to take stock and go forward. I am sure we will have a good list of candidates who want to be CEO. There is excitement among people to take up this role. We need someone who has expertise in managing a large corporate, understands technology and good execution skills. Someone who is a consensus builder and has a sense of the cultural transformation that is required in Infosys
6:30 PM Nandan Nilekani: Extremely confident that we will have a good list of internal and external candidates. We need someone with an expertise to manage a large global corporation, someone who can strategise and execute. These are a few attributes to look for in a new CEO
6:26 PM Nandan Nilekani: Mr Sikka was a very good technocrat who understood what's happening in the world of automation. Going ahead, we will look business strategies in detail and unveil plans in October
6:25 PM Nandan Nilekani: I will approach all investigations with a dispassionate mind. We will make full disclosure
6:23 PM Nandan Nilekani: We had 600 people on the morning call today, and 200 are there on this call. We will make sure our investors and stakeholders are on board on what all we are doing
6:22 PM Nandan Nilekani: Over the next 2 weeks, our HR (department) will reach out to the employees and update them on what's happening
6:22 PM Nandan Nilekani: Will reach out to a number of shareholders in the next few days and to get feedback from them
6:21 PM Nandan Nilekani: It is premature for me to speak on strategy. It has been over 10 years since I left Infosys to do a national job. We will look at customer demand. In the October board meeting, we will be articulate better where we are on strategy
6:17 PM Nandan Nilekani: Mr Murthy is the biggest corporate giant of the last 100 years. I will make sure that he is accorded due respect
6:17 PM Nandan Nilekani: I am here because multiple stakeholders thought that I would be able to do this job. In my career, I have been seen as a consensus builder
6:17 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: Will ensure Murthy is given the respect he deserves
6:16 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: Murthy is a great visionary and I vouch for it, having started my career as a software engineer decades ago under him
6:14 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: It should be clear that the board has no intention of taking on Murthy. We all value him immensely. It will be my endeavour to maintain a healthy relationship with Murthy.
6:13 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: It is unfortunate that some differences have cropped up in recent past between Narayana Murthy and the board
6:11 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: Venkatesan and Prahlad will take the stock of the situation of the company and come out with a strategic plan
6:10 PM Infosys Concall
Nandan Nilekani: The board and investors agree that the company now has stable leadership
6:08 PM Global investor call begins
5:57 PM Click here for the full press release issued by Infosys
5:55 PM
Nandan Nilekani: I also want to make sure that Mr Narayana Murthy's contribution is recognised. This is a part of my job
5:53 PM Nandan Nilekani: My immediate goal is to bring stability and calmness, which I believe has already been established. The second goal is to reduce media interest in Infosys. The third goal is to start search for the new CEO. The fourth goal is to review corporate governnance. I will go through the investigations in a calm and dispassionate manner. We have a strategic group, which will take care of the business strategy
5:53 PM Nandan Nilekani: Will triangulate the market conditions, customers needs and the strategy and come out with the strategy in October
5:51 PM Nandan Nilekani: My immediate role is to bring stability and calmness in the organisation
5:49 PM Nandan Nilekani: This is not about the founders but to align the interests of the board
5:47 PM Nandan Nilekani: It's less than 24 hours since I joined back this company. It will be premature to talk about which markets to focus on
5:45 PM Nandan Nilekani: I am a guy who looks at the future. I have come here to take this company to its future
5:42 PM Nandan Nilekani: Unfortunate that difference of opinion rose between Murthy and the board
5:39 PM Nandan Nilekani: I am here beacuse I think there was no one else
5:39 PM Nandan Nilekani: We have an extremely resilient organisation. It has depth of management, well established processes and people. I am sure they will do a good job
5:37 PM Nandan Nilekani: Full business strategy will be unveiled in October
5:34 PM Nandan Nilekani: Board focused on bringing stability. Committee of directors to work with CEO to review, refresh strategy
5:28 PM Nandan Nilekani: I am here as long as necessary to fulfil my goal of appointing a new CEO
5:27 PM Nandan Nilekani: I am here not just as a founder. I am here to represent 100% of the shareholders and to make sure we fulfil our legal obligations
5:22 PM
Nandan Nilekani: The Board has also approved the appointment of the executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with its Nominations and Remunerations Committee to review and identify the right candidate to be the Company’s next CEO and MD
5:21 PM Click here for the press release issued by Infosys
5:20 PM Nandan Nilekani: The Company has previously authorised investigations into allegations made by anonymous persons regarding the conduct of the prior management, and each of these investigations concluded that there was no wrongdoing.
5:19 PM
"In recent days there has been considerable discussion of the relationship between the Board of Directors of Infosys Limited and NR Narayana Murthy who established the culture and ethos of Infosys, especially its culture of adhering to high corporate governance standards. The Board believes it to be unfortunate that various differences of opinion have arisen between Murthy and the Board in the recent past. The Board wishes to express that it was not its intention to cause Mr. Murthy or any other affected person any personal distress or anguish while stating its point of view.," Infosys said in a press release
5:17 PM The board is focused on bringing complete stability to the company. It has also tasked its committee of directors to work with the CEO and management to review and refresh the company’s strategy by October: Nandan Nilekani
5:15 PM In less than 24 hours we have taken a lot of steps to bring back the sustainability of Infosys: Nandan Nilekani
5:14 PM Asked if there will be any more exits, Nilekani said "let's put off this question until the next meeting"
5:12 PM Have met senior management and employees and discussed various issues with them: Nandan Nilekani
5:11 PM Believe that we have successfully completed the transition: Nandan Nilekani
5:10 PM Ravi Venkatesan resigned as co-chairman but will remain an independent director: Nandan Nilekani
5:09 PM I am here to represent all stakeholders: Nandan Nilekani
5:08 PM Vishal SIkka completed all responsibilities and resigned with immediate effect: Nandan Nilekani
5:08 PM The board unanimously appointed me as a non-executive chairman: Nandan Nilekani
5:07 PM
Infosys Press Conference starts
4:59 PM The 62-year-old Nilekani plans to unveil his strategy in October, at the next board meeting.
4:58 PM Too early to say where the new CEO will be based: Nilekani said in an earlier concall
4:56 PM "I will stay as long as necessary. I will go once I am no longer necessary," Nilekani said without giving a timeframe for his second stint at Infosys
Illustration: Ajay Mohanty
4:55 PM Door is open for internal and external candidates: Nilekani on selection of new CEO.
4:53 PM Nandan Nilekani is expected to unveil a strategy to stabilise Infosys
4:51 PM Infosys press conference to start at 5 pm today.
4:22 PM Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Ajay Tyagi said on Tuesday the capital markets regulator was keeping a close watch on the share price movement of information technology (IT) bellwether Infosys.
Infosys turmoil: Will keep an eye on its stock price, says Sebi chief
4:18 PM
Earlier today, Nandan Nilekani tweeted: Joined Infosys at 26, re-joined it at 62. Life does turn full circle!
4:14 PM
4:13 PM We will maintain our neutral rating, said Nandan Nilekani
4:12 PM
Nandan Nilekani: Here to ensure proper integration with board, future sustainability. Will look at adding more directors to the board
4:11 PM Narayana Murthy an iconic figure, a visionary, says Nandan Nilekani
4:11 PM Will to forego rewards for many years, he said
4:11 PM It's important to have a greatteam. People must have common value system: Nilekani
4:10 PM I have a failry good idea what needs to be done to stabilise Infosys, says Nandan Nilekani
4:09 PM Nilekani said, 'Efforts are to build a truly independent board'
4:08 PM Nilekani on earlier concall: Infosys is a very unusual company, trying to hand the baton to the next generation
4:06 PM Stay with us for the first Infosys press conference after Nandan Nilekani's return today
4:04 PM What led to Sikka's exit? Major events that led to current Infosys turmoil
4:03 PM BS Special: Nandan Nilekani's appointment can only partially rid Infosys of its problems CLICK HERE TO READ
4:01 PM Nilekani in damage-control mode, to focus on CEO search, new board, strategy
3:57 PM
After gaining nearly 5% in past two trading sessions, Infosys is back in the top 10 companies by market capitalisation (m-cap) or value on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
With the m-cap of Rs 2,09,598 crore, Infosys is currently stands at ninth rank, ahead of Indian Oil Corporation, which had m-cap of Rs 2,07,881 crore , as of Thurday's close, the BSE data shows
3:57 PM Infosys ended 2% higher on Thursday at Rs 912, extending Wednesday’s gain of 2% on BSE, in otherwise range bound market.
3:55 PM
3:53 PM
The dramatic exit of Infosys' chief executive Vishal Sikka late last week took uncertainty to new highs and prompted several days of falling shares. A group of 12 major institutional investors wrote to ask for Nilekani - one of Infosys' seven co-founders, though largely absent from the spat - to come back on the board.
3:51 PM The unanimous decision of the board (to appoint Nilekani as non-executive chairman) reflects the confidence every one of us had in his credible leadership to steer Infosys out of these troubled time," Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.
Also Read: Nilekani will lead Infosys out of troubled times: Mazumdar-Shaw
3:44 PM Also Read: Challenges ahead as Nandan Nilekani takes on second innings at Infosys
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