PP Thimmaya & Oindrilla Sarkar
Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has expressed his anguish over what he termed was a personal attack by the current Board that he founded and said that he would reply to their allegations in the right manner and in the right forum and at the appropriate time. “It is below my dignity to respond to such baseless insinuations,” he said. “I am extremely anguished by the allegations, tone and tenor of the statements. I voluntarily left the Board in 2014 and am not seeking any money, position for children or power. My concern primarily was the deteriorating standards of corporate governance which I have repeatedly brought to the notice of the Infosys Board.” On the role of the founders in the company despite not holding any formal position, Murthy said, “I believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that the governance standard which has plummeted ever since September 2015 is brought back to a reasonable level, if not the pinnacle that it had reached during the time of the founders.”
“We just do not want the board to drive this institution to death through serious governance deficits in our own life time. The best way to ensure longevity of any corporation is by pursing good governance,” he said. Murthy remarked that businesses will go through ups and downs and that is par for the course; but bad governance is not. “We just want the board to protect the institution rather than protecting some individuals like the board is doing today,” he said. Murthy made it very clear that there was no fight between him and the outgoing CEO Vishal Sikka.
“That is simply not true,” he said. “My problem is with governance at Infosys. I believe that the fault lies with the current board. If the board had not made inaction its strategy since September 2015, and had ensured proper governance, then the board could have created checks and balances required in any well-run company. That, alas, does not exist today,” he said. Murthy felt that the Board was not walking the talk unlike the adage they were following which was “when in doubt disclose”.
“The general belief among a large number of shareholders is that the current attitude of the board is a clear example of the worst board governance in India’s corporate history,” he said. Murthy has been vocal about the company making public the investigation report of being given the clean chit by external agencies on alleged financial impropriety.
“Several shareholders who have read the whistle-blower report have told me that it is hard to believe a report produced by a set of lawyers hired by a set of accused giving a clean chit to the accused and the accused refusing to disclose why they got a clean chit! They say that this is not the way an impartial and objective investigation should be held,” he said.
No formal role for Murthy, says Infosys co-chairman
Infosys co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan ruled out any formal role to founder N R Narayana Murthy. Queried about this possibility during an investor call, “We have no intention of inviting Mr Murthy for a formal role in the governance of the company,” he said. Murthy came into the executive chairman role in 2013 and left in 2014 following the induction of Vishal Sikka as CEO.