Comments
Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka may have received nods of approval from the management, but shareholders don’t want anyone other than co-founder NR Narayana Murthy in the saddle.
At the 34th AGM, a section of shareholders wanted Murthy to come back. Gopalakrishna Rao, an investor, asked the board to consider recalling Murthy. “If SEBI can ask for help from Murthy, why not our company,” said another investor from Mumbai.
At the sidelines, Murthy ruled out any possibility of coming back. “They have said this out of affection but I have complete confidence in Sikka and his team,” said Murthy, who for the first time attended an Infosys AGM as an investor, along with wife Sudha and son Rohan.
Another investor asked for Murthy to be appointed a permanent board member. These calls are coming from investors, some of whom are concerned about the company’s growth prospects.
Sikka, along with newly elected Non-executive Chairman R Seshasayee reassured investors that Murthy being the Bhishma pitamaha, the company would always consider him on all strategic matters. He touched Murthy’s feet and the two hugged before the AGM. “For someone who grew up in the world of IT, I have tremendous respect for what the founders have built,” said Sikka.
Interestingly, apart from the Murthy family, none of the other founders attended the AGM. This came as bad news to some investors. “The presence of founders gives us confidence that they have some sort of interest in the company and to not see them is disappointing and sends the wrong signals,” said a Bengaluru-based investor who holds shares in the company since 1997.
Buys out arm for $100 m The company also secured shareholders’ approval for buying Infosys Public Services Inc, a wholly-owned healthcare business subsidiary, for $100 million (₹625 crore).
Seshesayee, who took over the top post on June 5 from KV Kamath, said: “We are in the midst of tremendous changes in the IT industry and… Vishal Sikka and his management team have articulated a clear strategy to exploit these emerging opportunities.”
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.