Bangalore, April 30 (IANS) K.V. Kamath, who steered ICICI to become India’s largest private bank, will be the new chairman of India’s second largest IT bellwether Infosys from Aug 21 when incumbent and co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy retires on attaining 65 years age.
In a major strategic revamp of its top leadership, the company’s board Saturday appointed Murthy chairman emeritus for life and elevated chief executive and co-founder S. Gopalakrishnan as co-chairman of the board.
Chief operating officer and another co-founder S.D. Shibulal will succeed Gopalakrishnan as the global software major’s new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director.
All new appointments will be effective from Aug 21.
‘This is a great moment for Infosys. These three leaders meld an extraordinary range of talents and experiences with a united commitment to drive the company to unprecedented levels of accomplishment while remaining true to its historic values,’ nominations committee chairman Jeffery S. Lehman said in a statement.
Lauding the two-member committee for doing an admirable job of succession planning and continuing the Infosys tradition of a sound succession strategy, Murthy said he was glad the panel found a perfect team to strengthen customer, investor and employee connect on the one-hand and world-class board governance on the other.
‘Vaman (Kamath) is, in my opinion, one of the finest corporate leaders of modern India. Kris (Gopalakrishnan) demonstrated high-class performance during testing times for the industry and the company,’ Murthy told reporters here.
Though the nominations committee was set up 16 months ago (January 2010) with company’s three independent directors that included Lehman, Kamath and Marti Subramanyam, Kamath recused from the panel when it became clear that he was one of the hot contenders for the top post.
‘Infosys is a company which has been built by its founders, led by a visionary leader Murthy, who as its chief executive and then as its chairman and chief mentor, provided its thought leadership over the years,’ Kamath said, accepting the high-profile post.
Murthy, who built the 30-year-old company from scratch to a $6 billion global software major, expressed gratitude to the board for appointing him as the company’s chairman emeritus and providing him an opportunity to add value to the board, the executive management and every Infoscion if asked by them.
‘Vaman, Kris and Shibu will make an ideal team. I have no doubt Shibu will do an excellent job like Kris did as the new chief executive,’ Murthy said.
