Infosys co-founder and outgoing Executive Chairman, NR Narayana Murthy today said he brought his son, Rohan as executive assistant in his team to get “fresh new perspectives”.

Defending his decision to choose Rohan as aide in his second stint at Infosys, Murthy said: “I needed somebody by my side who is intelligent, smart, and is new to the industry to the point where he/she would not accept status quo.”

“This was my charge to Rohan — to bring fresh new perspectives from his world, to think from the left field, to not accept status quo, and ultimately only focus on how Infosys can use technology to differentiate in the market place,” Murthy told shareholders at the firm’s 33rd AGM.

Murthy was brought back from retirement to steer Infosys back on the growth trajectory after the company lost sheen to rivals like TCS and HCL Technologies.

He took over as Executive Chairman in June last year, with his son Rohan Murty joining as executive assistant as part of the Chairman’s Office.

Murthy had said this would help him function more effectively.

Rohan’s term was co-terminus with that of his father and he had requested that he should also be paid only a token compensation of rupee one per year like Murthy.

While Murthy will continue as non-executive chairman till October 10, Rohan’s term came to an end today.

Rohan’s presence in the firm was seen by many as a grooming process for a larger role.

While there were speculations that Rohan could be designated as Vice President, Murthy always maintained that the latter would have no leadership role at the $8.3 billion entity.

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