Narayana Murthy Is Still Disappointed With The Infosys Board
Murthy says we’ll never know what the real truth is around Infosys’ investigation.
Infosys co-Founder Naryana Murthy today said he is still disappointed with the board members of the IT bellwether as it failed to address concerns around governance standards “with the transparency it deserves”.
“I stand by every question on poor governance raised in my speech to Infosys investors dated August 29, 2017. The fact remains that none of these questions have been answered by the Infosys board with the transparency it deserves,” Murthy said in an emailed media statement following Infosys’ second quarter financial results.
Murthy had questioned governance standards at India’s second-largest software services provider over severance pay to former Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Bansal and anonymous allegations of wrongdoing in the acquisition of Israeli firm Panaya during Vishal Sikka’s term as the chief executive officer. He had also criticised the previous board for not making the investigation reports public. The months-long tussle between the board and the company’s founders had eventually led to the resignation of former chief Vishal Sikka.
The core question still is how and why the Infosys board approved an unusual and unprecedented severance payment agreement of 1000 percent (of the standard Infosys employment contracts) to the former CFO, and why the board did not disclose this information proactively and much earlier. Sadly, it appears we will no longer know the truth.NR Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys
Earlier in the day, in a media statement accompanying the financial results, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani said he found no merit in the allegations of wrongdoing at the company. “I believe that all stakeholders acted out of a strong passion for Infosys, wanting what they believed to be the best for the company and to see it succeed,” Nilekani said.
Murthy had also criticised the previous board for not making the investigation reports public. Again, Nilekani-led board didn’t give in to the demand.
Infosys said that publishing additional details of the investigation would inhibit the company’s ability to conduct effective investigations into any matter in the future. “Confidentiality is critical to ensuring the candour and cooperation of whistleblowers and other participants in any investigative process,” the statement said. The precedent of releasing the full investigation reports could impair the cooperation of participants should the need for an investigation arise in the future, it added.
The earlier Infosys board led by R Seshasayee too had denied anything amiss, acknowledging that the severance pay matter could have been handled better.