The differences between Chairman K.P.P. Nambiar and Managing Director K.R. Srivathsan of the prestigious Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) at Technopark here have reached a flashpoint with Nambiar quitting the post and the government reconstituting the board by picking up Infosys COO and Deputy Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan as the new Chairman.Nambiar sent his resignation to CM Oommen Chandy on Thursday. Nambiar said he was quitting the post because the government decided to extend the term of Srivathsan despite the board’s decision to terminate his services.Under Srivathsan, the institute could not grow as it was expected. It was also unfortunate that the institute had been drifting away from what was originally conceptualised, Nambiar noted in his letter.As part of reconstituting the board, Srivathsan has been given an extension of three years. His term was originally extended in last January for a year. Srivathsan, who came from IIT Kanpur, said no decision was taken by the board to terminate his services. The government had accepted his future plans for the institute and promised him more land and facilities to implement them. Srivathsan has now completed four years as the MD.Nambiar was appointed chairman by former CM E.K. Nayanar.
