Narayana Murthy still worried about Infosys management
13 Feb 2017
Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy said today he is still concerned with the governance issues at the helm of the company. Last week, he had publicly expressed disappointment over governance issues at the board of India's second largest software exporter.
Murthy had questioned the large severance package offered to the company's former chief compliance officer David Kennedy and former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal. He also raised objections to chief executive officer Vishal Sikka's compensation package. He sought the replacement of independent director Jeffrey Lehman as the head of the nomination and remuneration committee. (See: Top execs at Infosys being paid too much: Narayana Murthy). "No, I have not withdrawn my concern. They have to be addressed properly by the board and full transparency should be given and people responsible for it should become accountable. The positive tweet by one of the directors is encouraging," said Murthy in an emailed response to media queries.
The company last week hired law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas to engage with stakeholders, including the founders, and take suggestions to recommend to the board, even as it independently engages with them as large investors. One of the board members said that it was to create an official platform of communication. The founders have nearly 13 per cent stake in Infosys.
Some key shareholders of the company have suggested a restructuring of the current board. Murthy said that even if the board members are people with high integrity, they could make mistakes.
"They are all good-intentioned people of high integrity but obviously being human even good people sometimes make mistakes. This is one such case,'' the Infosys founder said.
He is, however, confident that the board would take corrective measures. "Good leadership demands that they listen to all concerned shareholders, re-evaluate their decision and take corrective action. I hope they take corrective action soon and improve governance for a better future for the company."