Infosys starts search for exiting Shibulal's successor

IT outsourcing services giant Infosys Ltd said on Friday that its nomination committee comprising the company’s board of directors has commenced the search to select a successor to current Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director S D Shibulal.

Shibulal has expressed his desire to retire as CEO and MD of the company and as a member of the board of directors either on the date of the last board meeting before his superannuation — January 9, 2015 — or when his successor is ready to assume office, whichever is earlier.

The nominations committee will shortlist and evaluate an internal slate of candidates with the assistance of Development Dimensions International (DDI), a company specialising in corporate executive evaluations, Infosys said in a statement.

The board of directors of the company has also appointed Egon Zehnder, an executive search firm, to assist the nominations committee in identifying an external slate of candidates.

The new appointee will be tasked with turning the company around, which among other issues, has been facing an exodus of senior executives opting to join rival firms or take up alternative careers. Over the last two years, Infosys has seen nine top level exits, including top executives like former CFO V Balakrishnan and former Americas head Ashok Vemuri who were said to be contenders for the top job.

Ashok Vemuri quit to become CEO at iGate, while V Balakrishnan joined political party AAP. Other exits include global sales head Basab Pradhan, Head of Utilities and Resources for North America Stephen Pratt, Head of BPO sales Australia Kartik Jayaraman and BPO Head Latin America Humberto Andrade.

While some industry watchers have attributed the exits to the return of N R Narayana Murthy at the helm of affairs last year, the company has maintained that it remains unperturbed by these exits. Murthy has gone on record as saying that the exits would not really disrupt the long-term strategic direction of the company.