He was the loudest voice at Infosys for 17 years and this is his final week at work there. Darlington Jose Hector finds Pai looking forward to burying the past, and begin building new universities
For the last one month TV Mohandas Pai has been shying away from the media. Ever since he decided to quit as board member and chief of human resources at Infosys Technologies, controversies have been plaguing him. There were strong indications that he had a fallout with the Infosys top management. Some said he quit because of the disappointment of not being considered for the CEO?s post. A few others felt he resigned due to differences of opinion with Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and new CEO SD Shibulal. Pai has been continuously denying these allegations since then, before jetting off to China for a few days along with Murthy to declare open the new Shanghai facility. Now that he is back, Pai is looking forward to burying the past and starting on a clean slate.
?I do not intend to rake up the past,? he says, as we settle down for dinner at Fava, the new happening restaurant at UB City in Bangalore. ?I do not want any more controversies. Let me put the record straight. I moved out of Infosys because I wanted to do better things outside the company. I had a wonderful time with Infosys for 17 years. There was a time when NRN was Infosys chairman, Nandan Nilekani was the CEO and I was the CFO. Those were the days. Can you point out any company that had this kind of line-up? Now I have nothing left to prove at Infosys. That?s why I walked away.?
The mocktails arrive and Pai decides to launch into the freshly squeezed vibrant liquid. ?Let?s order some starters as well. How about a non-veg platter?? he asks. ?As you know this is my final week at Infosys. I will give a farewell speech on June 10.?
Does he have any regrets about leaving such a venerable institution? ?I have plenty to look forward to. Today, the education sector requires a major fact-lift. Our higher education system, especially, needs a lot of help. My attempt is to associate with this significant sector and help India build a great new generation of brilliant students. That would be my contribution to the country. I want to help build new universities here, which may be termed world class.?
Pai opts for pork chops as the main course while I order some pasta. ?I lost a bit of weight. It is good to cut down on food. It also helps to be busy,? he says, even as he tucks into the chops.
The 51-year-old Pai joined Infosys in 1994 on a full-term basis. It was Narayana Murthy who recommended Pai?s name to Nilekani. During an annual general meeting, Pai stood up to ask a series of questions to the Infosys top management and that made Murthy wonder as to who this guy was. During a break, Murthy asked Nilekani to get in touch with Pai. It was no surprise that Pai had a truckload of good questions to ask. Those days his hobby was to read up on the annual reports of all companies!
?I used to read annual reports like I used to read other books. Even as a child I wanted to be the one with all the answers. I wanted to be the best. Even in the Infosys board room, Murthy tended to agree with me more often than not. This was because I argued with facts and figures. Some thought Murthy was partial to me. That was not the case. Murthy stood with someone who had facts to support him.?
Pai was the CFO from 1994 to 2006, during which he drew up some of the most transparent reporting practices in Indian corporate history. He was a pioneer in that regard. He also served as a member of several committees constituted by the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and serves on the board of Sebi now. He is also a trustee of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, the body that oversees the International Accounting Standards Board.
Now that he is walking away (Nilekani and Phaneesh Murthy too have exited), does he think that Infosys will lose some of its management muscle? ?No. Infosys will give rise to new leaders. This company was never in the business of doing low cost work. We always looked at healthy margins. The future belongs to those IT firms that can transform clients and become business partners. In that sense, Infosys is the company to watch out for even in the future.?
?See, my decision to leave Infosys was not taken all of a sudden. I had discussed this with NRN ten months ago. I know that Infosys will have more good years at the top, but it was my call to move on. I wanted to use my talents for a larger goal. But I don?t have any plans to write a book. I can use my free time to do other stuff.? Pai will be working on the board of many firms and will also work in association with educational outfits like Manipal. But he knows that he won?t be part of any IT services firm. ?That?s final. I will not be involved with any other software firm after having worked with Infosys.?
The desserts arrive and it?s about time to wrap up the conversation. For 17 years, Pai was the loudest voice at Infosys. After this week, he will no longer walk through the lawns of Infosys in an official capacity. An era has ended.