IT major Infosys promoter NR Narayana Murthy, who red flagged poor governance at the Board level over the months this year, on Wednesday said all was well in the company, with the return of co-founder Nandan Nilekani as its non-Executive Chairman.
“Absolutely all is well (in the company). I told investors in a statement on August 29, now that we have Nilekani as the Chairman, we can all sleep well,” recalled Murthy on the margins of an event in the Infosys campus.
Lauding Nilekani for being a very organised person, with strength to simplify complex ideas, Murthy said as there were lots of complexities (in the company), the former’s hands were full.
“Let’s leave it to him (Nilekani) and keep quiet so that he does his job well,” said Murthy after Infosys Science Foundation announced winners of its Prizes for this year.
Murthy’s observation came in light of his October 24 statement that he was disappointed over Nilekani too finding no wrong doing in the Panaya deal or in the Board’s decision to pay a severance package to the company’s former chief financial officer (Rajiv Bansal) in October 2015.
“I believe all stakeholders acted out of a strong passion for Infosys, wanting what they believed to be the best for the company and to see it succeed,” Nilekani said on the software firm’s (Panaya) buyout in February 2015.
In response to Nilekani endorsing the deal and the pay to Bansal, Murthy said in a statement that he stood by every question on poor governance he raised in his speech to investors on August 29.
“The fact remains that none of these questions have been answered by the Board with the transparency it deserves. I am disappointed,” said Murthy.
Murthy also asked how the Board approved an unusual severance payment of 1,000 per cent to Bansal and why the Board did not disclose it earlier.
On the search for next chief executive officer, Narayana Murthy said: “Nandan himself has been a CEO and he knows what he requires and there is no need for advice.”