Infosys@40 - A success story that inspires millions

From an idea germinated in a one-bedroom apartment to a multinational with a market capitalisation of over $70 billion, annual revenue of around $17 billion and 3,45,000 employees - Infosys is a story that fits an entry into every B-School textbook. Seven engineers, hailing mostly from lower-middle-class backgrounds had a dream of building a world-class IT services firm. And after four decades, that dream - named Infosys - is a technology giant, serving most Fortune 500 companies across the world, credited with a gold standard in corporate governance. As Infosys commemorates four decades of its existence, founders N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan M Nilekani, S Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal, and K Dinesh took a trip down memory lane at its sprawling campus in the IT capital of the country. And one thing that emerged from their lively conversation was that apart from extraordinary grit, determination, commitment and business acumen, what made Infosys what it is today is its ‘value’ system.

“Respect will bring all the other stuff (like staying relevant, purposefulness),” Narayana Murthy replied to a question about what would come to his mind when Infosys will go on to complete its 100 years (Infosys@100). "We have always managed Infosys as an enlightened corporate democracy where the hierarchy of ideas was respected over the hierarchy of corner offices," Murthy added.

To the incumbent Chairman of Infosys, Nandan M Nilekani, Murthy is the 'corporate Zubin Mehta' for his love for western classical music and his innate ability to spot and nurture talent along with team building expertise.

‘I am the last of the jokers left’, quipped Nilekani, the non-executive Chairman of Infosys, indicating the baton will be transferred to a non-founder chairman soon. After four decades of operation with founders remaining at the helm for most part, Infosys is getting ready for robust succession planning in the coming years.

“My challenge is a little more acute, because I have some founder's clout but I'll be handing over to a chairman at whatever point that I exit from the scene, who will be a non-founder. There's no plan B now. If I hand over to somebody and it doesn't work out, there's no Plan B. I can't come back at 75 or something.,” the 67-year-old Nilekani said.

He stressed the need to plan well for the succession to take care of not just one transition but to put a system in place for many perpetual transitions in the case of both the chairman and the CEO.

Perhaps, the IT major has learnt its lessons from the 2014-2017 period when a professional chief executive officer (CEO) and board headed by a non-founder chairman had not gone down well for the company. “Need to have a strong board that will think of the long term with people who will behave like founders," Nilekani said. Nilekani and current CEO Salil Parekh had scripted a turn-around story with industry-leading growth rates since 2017 and the company wants to ensure that the momentum is sustained through a strong succession planning.

Under-promise, over-deliver

For the current management of Infosys, the company should ideally be a ‘no drama, no surprise, boring company’ that delivers more than its promise. In other words, the quintessential Infosys style of ‘under-promise, & overdeliver’ should guide its journey to the next century. Meanwhile, Murthy also admitted that he was wrong in his belief that the company should keep promoters’ children away from any management role.

"I was completely wrong. I was depriving this organisation of legitimate talent. I take back whatever I said. Every individual must have the same opportunity as every other individual if he or she is considered the best person for the job," Murthy said.

As Infosys begins its next phase of growth; its success will depend on adapting to a fast-changing technology landscape, robust board & management and technology talent base.