ID :
175692
Fri, 04/15/2011 - 17:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/175692
The shortlink copeid
Pai to step down from Infosys, wants new leadership
Bangalore, Apr 15 (PTI) India's second largest IT company
Infosys on Friday announced its board member and HR Director
Mohandas Pai, who was once tipped to be the Chief Operating
Officer, will step down in June this year.
Pai said he was demitting office to provide an
opportunity to a new set of people to lead the firm and bring
it amongst the top three global players.
"We have brought this company, from the time when it was
USD 10 million in 1994, to a USD 6 billion company, globally
dominating the top 10. It's time to go to the top three in the
next five years."
Pai has resigned from the board of directors as well as
from the company itself.
"And for that I think, we need a different set of people
because we can do it, but leadership has to renew itself," Pai
told the CNBC in an interview.
Pai joined Infosys in 1994 and has served as a Member of
the Board since May 2000. He was its Chief Financial Officer
from 1994 to 2006.
Pai is the second senior level executive quiting Infosys
after Nandan Nilekani. Nilekani since then has joined the
Unique Identification Authority of India as its Chairman.
"People in the system have to understand that they too
will get a shot at being leaders when they are still energetic
and still passionate about the business and so I think it was
the right time for me to step down, so others can come up".
In 2006, Pai voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to
lead efforts in the areas of Human Resources and Education and
Research.
"I stepped down in 2006 from the CFO position and now I
handled this (HR Director). I handled a large portfolio and
now I think it's time for others to come up," he said.
Pai will be relieved of his services after the company's
annual general meeting on June 11, 2011.
Asked if there were other reasons for his exit, Pai
told the channel: "I have no unfulfilled ambition because
being the CEO of this company was not my aspiration.
"My aspiration was to participate in the management and
help build a company which sets standards for everybody to
follow and which is widely accepted".
Acknowledging Pai's contribution, Infosys chief mentor
NR Naryana Murthy said, "Mohan has been an early adopter and
key anchor builder of Infosys. We know he is taking the
painful decision since he has much bigger projects on the
horizon -- nation building."
Talking about his future plans, Pai said, "I'm sad
because for 17 years, this (Infosys) has been my life. I will
go back to being a shareholder. I will ask questions on
everyone's behalf".
"About 30-35 per cent of the time I will spend in the
corporate world. I will probably join 2-3 boards which are
systematically important for this country", Pai said.
"I will spend 30-35 per cent of the time on education. I
want to help reform the higher education system and also spend
time with family," he added.
Infosys, which has been facing stiff competition from
domestic rival Tata Consultancy and newer firms like Cognizant
has been undergoing restructuring for the last few years.
"There is a regeneration of leadership and we must do it
ahead of time. I think its very important to do it ahead of
time because you must prepare for the future rather than be
faced with the calamity at some point in time and leadership
is most critical for companies," Pai said.
He added that the new leadership would help the firm in
facing competition.
"We are entering a new journey, a new transformation. And
for that we require to change many things. We are changing for
the last two years and we will change much more rapidly to
fight the battle," Pai said.
Company Chairman Murthy is retiring in August this year
and the Board of Directors will meet on April 30, 2011 to
finalise the leadership succession plans.
Earlier, reports had suggested that Infosys COO SD
Shibulal was likely to take over as the CEO as the current
Chief Kris Gopalakrishnan was likely to become the Chairman
after Murthy's retirement. There were also speculations about
Pai becoming the COO.
Infosys has also formed a nominations committee,
comprising Professor Jeffery S Lehman, Deepak M Satwalekar
(former MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance) and KV
Kamath (non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of
ICICI Bank). The committee is responsible for succession
planning for the roles of chairman, CEO, COO and CFO of the
company.
Infosys on Friday announced its board member and HR Director
Mohandas Pai, who was once tipped to be the Chief Operating
Officer, will step down in June this year.
Pai said he was demitting office to provide an
opportunity to a new set of people to lead the firm and bring
it amongst the top three global players.
"We have brought this company, from the time when it was
USD 10 million in 1994, to a USD 6 billion company, globally
dominating the top 10. It's time to go to the top three in the
next five years."
Pai has resigned from the board of directors as well as
from the company itself.
"And for that I think, we need a different set of people
because we can do it, but leadership has to renew itself," Pai
told the CNBC in an interview.
Pai joined Infosys in 1994 and has served as a Member of
the Board since May 2000. He was its Chief Financial Officer
from 1994 to 2006.
Pai is the second senior level executive quiting Infosys
after Nandan Nilekani. Nilekani since then has joined the
Unique Identification Authority of India as its Chairman.
"People in the system have to understand that they too
will get a shot at being leaders when they are still energetic
and still passionate about the business and so I think it was
the right time for me to step down, so others can come up".
In 2006, Pai voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to
lead efforts in the areas of Human Resources and Education and
Research.
"I stepped down in 2006 from the CFO position and now I
handled this (HR Director). I handled a large portfolio and
now I think it's time for others to come up," he said.
Pai will be relieved of his services after the company's
annual general meeting on June 11, 2011.
Asked if there were other reasons for his exit, Pai
told the channel: "I have no unfulfilled ambition because
being the CEO of this company was not my aspiration.
"My aspiration was to participate in the management and
help build a company which sets standards for everybody to
follow and which is widely accepted".
Acknowledging Pai's contribution, Infosys chief mentor
NR Naryana Murthy said, "Mohan has been an early adopter and
key anchor builder of Infosys. We know he is taking the
painful decision since he has much bigger projects on the
horizon -- nation building."
Talking about his future plans, Pai said, "I'm sad
because for 17 years, this (Infosys) has been my life. I will
go back to being a shareholder. I will ask questions on
everyone's behalf".
"About 30-35 per cent of the time I will spend in the
corporate world. I will probably join 2-3 boards which are
systematically important for this country", Pai said.
"I will spend 30-35 per cent of the time on education. I
want to help reform the higher education system and also spend
time with family," he added.
Infosys, which has been facing stiff competition from
domestic rival Tata Consultancy and newer firms like Cognizant
has been undergoing restructuring for the last few years.
"There is a regeneration of leadership and we must do it
ahead of time. I think its very important to do it ahead of
time because you must prepare for the future rather than be
faced with the calamity at some point in time and leadership
is most critical for companies," Pai said.
He added that the new leadership would help the firm in
facing competition.
"We are entering a new journey, a new transformation. And
for that we require to change many things. We are changing for
the last two years and we will change much more rapidly to
fight the battle," Pai said.
Company Chairman Murthy is retiring in August this year
and the Board of Directors will meet on April 30, 2011 to
finalise the leadership succession plans.
Earlier, reports had suggested that Infosys COO SD
Shibulal was likely to take over as the CEO as the current
Chief Kris Gopalakrishnan was likely to become the Chairman
after Murthy's retirement. There were also speculations about
Pai becoming the COO.
Infosys has also formed a nominations committee,
comprising Professor Jeffery S Lehman, Deepak M Satwalekar
(former MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance) and KV
Kamath (non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of
ICICI Bank). The committee is responsible for succession
planning for the roles of chairman, CEO, COO and CFO of the
company.
