Former senior Infoscions want board rejig

Amid the growing feud between the Infosys founders and the board over the company’s governance issue, former senior Infoscions have mooted the idea of the ouster of Chairman R Seshasayee and restructuring the board.

 In an interaction with DH, former Infosys Chief Financial Officer Mohandas Pai, who spent 17 years with the company, said Seshasayee should quit soon. “I think the Board has to be restructured and there should be a new chairman,” he said.

Pai pointed out that  Seshasayee is not following good standards laid out by the company.  “This is my stand on the issue. I don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.

Former Infosys CFO V Balakrishnan also joined the chorus for the ouster of the chairman. “There is a trust dispute, so my suggestion will be for the chairman of the board to step down,” he said.

He also pointed out that the company should appoint an interim chairman. “The board should engage with the founders, if required, re-consult the board and fully support Sikka and make sure the company gets back in the growth path,” he said.

When DH tried to reach out to Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy’s office on the development, his office stated that Murthy is not talking anything on this.

Earlier, Murthy had told media that he is quite happy with CEO Vishal Sikka and that he is doing a good job.

“However, what concerns some of us, particularly the founders and former senior Infoscions is that there have been certain acts of governance that could have been done better. For instance, paying former CFO a 30-month severance pay amounting Rs 23 crore,” he said.

In a veiled comment, Murthy also mentioned that there should be a change in the board structure by bringing in ex-Infoscions.