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Journalism of Courage
Amid a feud between the board of Infosys and co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, company’s co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan on Tuesday called on finance and corporate affairs minister Arun Jaitley. Venkatesan is believed to have briefed Jaitley about the developments at Infosys and assured the minister of no let-up in corporate governance standards at the company, contrary to the allegations labelled by Murthy.
Last week, Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO and managing director of Infosys, saying the assault on him by Murthy had become increasingly malicious and personal. The company’s board came out in support of Sikka, hailing his performance in transforming the company and attributing his resignation to Murthy’s continuous assault on him.
Murthy had in recent months raised issues of “deteriorating standard of corporate governance” at the company. He had alleged that the company might have paid hush money to former CFO Rajiv Bansal and that the Panaya acquisition had not been above board. The allegations, however, have been strongly rejected by the company’s board.
Murthy’s concall with investors today
Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy will hold a conference call with investors on Wednesday. Murthy’s interaction with the investor community comes at a time when there is growing concern about the company’s future. The industry is expecting some strong words from Murthy during the investor call, especially considering the criticism by the Board.
According to sources, a section of Infosys investors had reached out to Murthy seeking an early resolution to the dispute. “The investors are worried about the way in which the company is now managed,” a person familiar with the development said. The promoter group holds 12.75 per cent stake in the firm.
Murthy’s call with analysts comes at a time when the board is making attempts to reach out to clients and institutional investors.
(With FE inputs)
