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Vishal Sikka Calls Media Reports ‘Eardrum Buzz’ In His Letter To Employees

Vishal Sikka tells employees to remain focused on strategy and not be distracted by gossip.

Vishal Sikka addressing the media, the day he was appointed as the chief executive officer of Infosys. (Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg)
Vishal Sikka addressing the media, the day he was appointed as the chief executive officer of Infosys. (Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg)

Vishal Sikka, the chief executive officer of Infosys Ltd., in an e-mail to employees, has told them not to be distracted by media reports on the spat between the company board and some founders who together hold a little over 12 percent in the software services firm. BloombergQuint is in possession of the e-mail in which Sikka compares these reports to a song written by The Wire called Eardrum Buzz.

Sikka starts off by talking about the changing environment for IT companies and reiterates the present management’s commitment towards the “transformational journey” undertaken by the company.

He dismisses these reports as speculation “designed to stir up the gossip”.

Let us not get distracted by media speculation or speculate on the unknowns, around visas, or anything that questions our commitment to governance, integrity and values, in order to generate headlines and create, in the words of The Wire, Eardrum Buzz.
Vishal Sikka’s E-mail To Infosys Employees

This e-mail comes at a time when at least three co-founders of Infosys, in a letter to the board, raised questions over Vishal Sikka’s revised compensation clause and certain “corporate governance” issues in the appointment of two independent directors. The letter also questioned the severance package extended to two former employees of the company.

Our revenue growth which underperformed the industry growth by 50 percent approximately 2 years ago, is now in line with overall industry growth.
Vishal Sikka’s E-mail To Infosys Employees

New software services like Mana, Skava, Edge, Panaya, Cloud Services, Cloud Migration, Mainframe Modernisation, API economy, BI Renewal and Cyber Security now contribute more than $110 million a quarter now, says Sikka. These new products have been developed and fine-tuned after Sikka took over as the CEO. He says the firm has also managed to hold on to margins “through operational efficiency improvements and automation benefits”.

"Our cash flow generation continues to be amongst the strongest in the industry. And in a key sign of a thriving enterprise, our new software and services have seen tremendous growth," he said.

“There is no second-guessing our deep commitment, passion and dedication to transforming this great company, even within the unprecedented new context that we find ourselves in. We are doing this. We will do this. Together!”, signs off Sikka.