KV Kamath appointed chairman of Infosys Technologies

BANGALORE: Infosys Technologies, India's second largest software company, on Saturday named veteran banker and seasoned business transformation manger K V Kamath as its new chairman. Kamath, 63, who is currently a member of Infosys' board of directors, will succeed the company's founder N R Narayana Murthy on August 21.

The nominations committee of the company, which is facing one of the toughest times in its three-decades of existence, also named current chief operating officer S D Shibulal as CEO and MD, while the incumbent CEO, S Gopalakrishnan, was elevated to the post of executive co-chairman. Murthy, who turns 65 in August, will become the chairman emeritus, a non-executive position like Kamath's.

Murthy, along with six fellow software engineers, established Infosys with about $250 in 1981. In the last 30 years, they have made it one of the most respected names in the software outsourcing sector with an annual turnover of about $6.2 billion.

Kamath, the chairman-elect, is also the non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank, and is a renowned name in the corporate world. TOI had earlier reported that Kamath was likely to be named Infosys chairman.

Pleased with his elevation to the top post at Infosys board, Kamath said he felt greatly honoured and added that he would accept this responsibility with a deep sense of humility.

The management changes come after the company missed earnings estimates for the third time in four quarters, unusual for a company known for promising less and achieving more. In its April 15 press conference, the infotech giant also forecast the lowest profit margin since 2003.

With the Nasdaq-listed company facing stiff competition from domestic as well as multinational rivals, its share price has fallen about 15.6% this year. According to analysts, the new structure that the board is putting in place is expected to help it in its next wave of growth, and help reverse the stock price's southward slide.

At the post-announcement conference, Shibulal said the company was planning to build a next generation global services and consulting firm and would focus on strengthening client relationships. Hailing Shibulal, Murthy said the two were known to each other from pre-Infosys days, and as COO of the company he always exceeded the expectations of the board. Every member of the board that I have talked to, every independent member, has nothing but tremendous appreciation for Shibulal's contribution. I am so happy that he will be steering the company in the future, Murthy said.

On Saturday evening, the company also announced that it would drop the word 'Technologies' from its name and will be renamed Infosys Limited. As we are a broad ranged service provider, we have decided to rename the company, subject to all clearances. It is also part of our broad Infosys 3.0 vision, said CEO S Gopalakrishnan.

Head of the nominations committee, Jeff Sean Lehman, who worked with the Infosys board to finalize the new management structure, said the changes reflected continuity. While Kamath brings in a wide range of industry experience as well as expertise in corporate governance, Gopalakrishnan brings an understanding of the organization and its employees, having co-founded it. Lehman said the company had increased the age limit for the chairman's position from 65 to 70 for non-co-founders. However, for co-founders the age limit to remain chairman stands at 65. The company will also name three new directors by June 11.

source: TOI