Bansal quits as CFO, cites lure of startups

Infosys announced that its chief financial officer (CFO) Rajiv Bansal has informed the company about his decision to resign. The company said he will be replaced by M D Ranganath.

Bansal will be relinquishing his CFO post and key managerial responsibilities with effect from October 12, 2015, and will resign from the services of the company effective December 31, 2015, Infosys said.

Bansal said he wanted to do something more exciting and challenging and aspired to be part of the startup ecosystem. “India is a hub for attracting investments and it is in a sweet spot in attracting investments. If you look at the startup ecosystem...it is a very interesting space. A lot of business models there are not traditional models,” he said.

He said as a traditional CFO you learn about profit maximisation, efficiency, productivity and value maximisation. But in startups, business models are being reviewed, he said. “Typically, in companies like Infosys, you don’t retire as a CFO. Look at Mohan (Mohandas Pai) and Bala (V Balakrishnan). They found something else to do. I have been here for 16 years. I am now 43 and I have spent three years as CFO,” he said.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said it is very sad to see that Bansal is leaving, but said he is pursuing opportunities outside. “We have in Mavinakere, an experienced person to replace him, a balanced leader with tremendous ability, knowledge, and integrity. We have had a very stable top management, the entire team is still with us. In the course of our careers, these things happen,” he said.