In yet another senior management exit, Infosys President BG Srinivas has decided to quit the company.
Given that he was one of the contenders for the CEO’s post, Srinivas’ exit has raised eyebrows and increased speculation over whether the nominations committee had chosen to overlook his candidature.
This is the fourth Board-level resignation and he is the 10th senior management executive to move out.
It also raises questions on Executive Chairman NR Narayana Murthy’s turnaround strategy and on the possibility of an external CEO or even an outside chance of the return of co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
Srinivas’ resignation will be effective from June 10. While no reasons were given for the exit, industry watchers believe he may have quit after learning that he was not in contention for the CEO’s post.
Ashok Vemuri, another Board-level executive, who was head of the Americas geography, quit the company last year and went on to head rival iGate.
These exits have raised questions about the leadership and turnaround strategy envisioned by Murthy since he came back in June last year.
“Murthy has failed in his job to identify a leader and he has failed in his leadership and he should explain what vision he has for the company,” said Mohandas Pai, a former Infosys Board member.
Surprise development The latest exit has taken analysts by surprise. “It is quite surprising as within the company he was the only contender,” said Ankita Somani, research analyst at MSFL, a Mumbai-based brokerage house. Somani also added that top management exits are a cause of concern and more so in this case, since Srinivas built Infosys’ European business, which contributes 24.4 per cent of its revenue. Also, there are concerns around how clients will be managed. “Account mining will be impacted,” added Somani. Infosys, however, maintains that the exit of one individual does not have a big impact.
The high-level exits may also force Infosys to hire a CEO from outside the company.
Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO of Head Hunters India, said that a CEO with a fresh perspective, who can work with Murthy, could be the way forward. However, recently, some Infosys employees posted messages internally seeking the return of co-founder Nandan Nilekani.