Infosys shares slip as Narayana Murthy slams COO's pay hike

Shares of Infosys fell over 1 per cent today as fresh row erupted between the founders and the company board over pay hike to Chief Operating Officer U B Pravin Rao.

The stock slipped 0.94 per cent to Rs 1,011.25 apiece in early trade on the BSE.

On the NSE, shares of the company went down by 1.15 per cent to Rs 1,010.45.

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy had yesterday said that the compensation hike to Chief Operating Officer (COO) U B Pravin Rao approved by the board in February was not “proper” and “will likely erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board“.

“The impact of such a decision (compensation hike) will likely erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board,” he said.

Infosys board had passed Rao’s pay hike with 67 per cent of votes, while 33 per cent voted against it.

Only 24 per cent of promoters voted in favour of the compensation hike, and rest of them abstained from voting.

Murthy also said that given the current poor governance standards at Infosys, the targets for variable pay may not be adhered to if the board wants to favorr a top management person.