The exit of BG Srinivas, the hot favourite for the CEO post in Infosys, India’s second-largest software company, was so sudden that even his personal staff did not know about it till it was officially announced.

What does this mean for Infosys? According to insiders, another round of middle- and top-rung exits may be in the offing, especially those mentored by and those who were close to Srinivas, one of the two presidents of Infosys.

It remains to be seen whether the other president, UB Praveen Rao, who had quit earlier on only to be made to stay back, will be the next to put in his papers. However, Rao may still be in the running to be the next CEO.

Srinivas’s exit has, however, left employees stunned. “BG (as Srinivas is referred to in the company) was the binding force and he was considered extremely affable and very much liked by the employees,” a senior executive with the company said. “He would have been a popular choice if he were to get the coveted post,” said another employee.

Succession headache

While it seems that no insider might eventually get the top job, some top executives said that the sooner the new person comes in the better for the company as staff morale is at its lowest.

Getting an outsider might lead to some more exits and if he happens to be his own man and a high-profile person, it may take time for him to get along with the company’s executive chairman, NR Narayana Murthy, something which Infosys can ill afford at this juncture.

The entire exercise of finding Mr Right for Infosys has, however, left several questions unanswered. Initially, the company’s top management put together an executive council only to dismantle it quickly. The council was replaced with two presidents, Srinivas and Praveen Rao, clearly demarcating their roles and giving enough indications that either of them could eventually lead the company. Now that Srinivas is set to leave, will the presidential posts continue or will they be replaced by something else?

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