Infosys Seeks CEO Ready to Enter War Between Board and Founders

Infosys Seeks CEO Ready to Enter War Between Board and Founders
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Infosys begins the search for a new CEO this week with a tough set of requirements for any candidate, according to Bloomberg. That person must be capable of leading a 200,000 employee organization, willing to tackle sweeping changes in the outsourcing industry and brave enough to drop in the middle of open warfare between the company’s board and co-founders.

The bedlam cost the company its current CEO, Vishal Sikka, who said he would step aside after escalating criticism from the co-founders over his compensation and strategy. The board defended Sikka and took the highly unusual step of calling out by name ex-Chairman Narayana Murthy for what they called his “inappropriate demands“ and destructive involvement. The billionaire responded with a dire warning that he would respond “in the right manner“ in the future.

The open hostilities will make it difficult to draw top candidates from outside the company and likely increase the chances an internal executive will be elevated to CEO. The Bangalore-based company, India’s second-largest outsourcer with more than $10 billion in revenue, also faces deep business challenges, from slowing growth and automation to hostility from the Trump administration in its most important market.

Fifty-year-old Sikka, a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and the former chief technology officer of SAP, is credited with fostering innovation at the company, stemming attrition, boosting margins and pulling in a growing roster of large corporate customers. He helped increase Infosys’s revenue by about 25 percent since taking the helm three years ago.

Infosys has little time to waste in choosing a successor. Among the internal frontrunners are Pravin Rao, a long-time Infosys hand named interim chief executive on Friday, and Chief Financial Officer Ranganath D. Mavinakere. Ranga, as he is known, has been at Infosys for over a decade-and-a-half and holds a degree from the high-profile engineering school, the Indian Institute of Technology. The boyish-looking Ranga, 55, may also be able to navigate the tensions between the board and co-founders. At Friday’s press conference, Sikka praised Ranga and highlighted his role in improving cash holdings to more than $5 billion.

Also possible internal candidates are Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ravi Kumar; Rajesh Krishnamurthy, who leads the energy and telecommunications units; and Mohit Joshi, who heads the banking business. One challenge looms for any internal candidate however. If any are chosen over Rao, dubbed the “accidental CEO“ by local media, they will supersede him and have to navigate how to share power.