INFOSYS YOUNG AND SMART????

When you are so energetic and are still capable of doing so much, why did you leave the CEO’s position so soon? Is it merely to accommodate somebody else? I believe that every human being has to have incentives to perform, be it money, recognition, titles, etc. Money is not a big issue for the senior management at Infosys; all of them are fairly well to do. I believe that people should get the opportunity as early as possible so that they can create a lasting impression on the company. People should take responsibility when they are energetic and young rather than at the fag end of the career. I wanted to leave at 45, at some point in time I thought I would do other things but then I realised that I wouldn’t be competent (in doing other things). It should not become a musical chair where every year you are changing senior management. Given that all of us have agreed on a retirement age of 60, my belief was that a person should get a tenure of five years at least. Was there also an understanding that most of the founders should get a chance at running Infosys? No, there has been no such understanding. Mr Raghavan retired at 57, Ashok Arora left much earlier. As long as a founder is fit enough to lead the company, I think it’s only fair. After all he has spent long years with the company, made sacrifices and demonstrated competence. So why not? On the other hand, any non-merit based criteria will not be used for founders or anybody else. N R Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys So how does it feel to lay off? Actually Nandan and I haven’t laid off. However, we have left it to the CEO, COO and the CFO to ask us to participate on an issue. On issues that for some reason have not got resolved within a certain acceptable period of time, Nandan and I have a right to intervene. Because at the end of the day, if the company does not perform or fulfil its obligations, what’s the value of the title? Personally, how does it feel to let go? After all, you worked so hard to build this company, put together this team and built this base. In April 2002 when I stepped down and Nandan became the CEO, I took a decision to spend more and more time outside Infosys. I joined the board of several universities and companies. I accepted invitations to speak abroad. I spend less than 10 days a month in Bangalore so my motivations changed. I was much busier with my obligations outside, so I never felt that I was twiddling my thumbs and no one was calling me. Did you stay away so that Nandan could come into his own? Absolutely, otherwise everybody would come to me all the time for every decision. While outside Infosys, I respect peer-to-peer relationships very well and participate in a low-key manner, within Infosys, I have always been very comfortable being in charge. I have always driven from the front so it’s not easy sitting in the office and waiting for someone to contact me. I deliberately took a lot of responsibilities outside. Is Nandan doing the same? He is not seen too much in public now. We all agreed that the CEO, CFO and COO would be the only people to speak on business matters inside India. Outside India, we all participate because if there is an opportunity then we should leverage that. However, I find that Nandan is more active internally today. I find him much more proactive in discussions because he realises that the best way he can make this succeed is by putting in 120% of his effort while leaving all the glory to Kris. That’s the beauty of Infosys. So Kris is the leader, and a leader here is first amongst equals and all of us work even harder to make sure that he succeeds. When you turned 60 and stepped down, one of your peers said, “Has he really retired? He may not be in charge but for 200 days in a year, he is still building the Infosys brand globally”. Yes, both Nandan and I have been doing that. Whenever I go out and give a speech, I always look for connecting the corporation with prospective customers. There’s nothing wrong or illegal about it, we are not upstaging anyone. When I receive dividend from Infosys and have a decent investment in this company then why not? Infosys is like our daughter and we take pride in her; she is now a smart, young lady. She has found somebody more attractive and much younger with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life. It is sad to let go of her but it’s a natural progression. The founders decided not to allow spouses or children to work in Infosys. If you believe in meritocracy, then why should you exclude your children if they are talented? No matter how correct we are, if our family works here and a decision goes in its favour people might raise objections. At this point of time in the history of this country, it is very important to conduct an experiment and create an example. It is definitely unfair to our children because our kids are in Yale, Harvard and Stanford. But it is better that there is unfairness to a few individuals if it benefits a lot of people. In a civilised society, a few people have to make sacrifices so that the majority benefit. If someone from Yale, Harvard or Stanford came to work at Infosys wouldn’t you welcome them with both arms? Yes my daughter can join Wipro, TCS, IBM or Accenture. It is her right. But in a professional company, it is much better that you do not give opportunities to your own kin. In Ramayana, Rama was accused of letting down the interest of Sita. But there is a lesson in that fable and that is for the sake of majority; leaders have to set an example. There was a key milestone in your life, when all the founders wanted to sell out for $1 million and you said you would buy them out. What if they had said yes to your proposal? Would you have been able to build Infosys? We had run this company for nine years in an era when India was business unfriendly and one Saturday we sat down and had a discussion and people were feeling dejected. As the leader, I had to put a positive spiral. I didn’t have the money to buy them out. I would have been able to raise it. But I doubt that I would have been able to create an Infosys that is as strong as it is today without this teamwork. I would not have wanted to run the company by myself, probably I would have spoken for another three hours and managed to convince them (laughs.)