Infosys Ltd. co-founder Nandan Nilekani may return to help the company navigate the current leadership crisis it is facing, said one person close to the negotiations. Nilekani may return as non-executive chairman but for how long is not known, said the person who preferred to remain unnamed.
Nilekani's return may be accompanied by the departure of two-three current Infosys board members, including one of the co-chairmen. It is likely that Ravi Venkatesan will remain on the board as an independent director, said the person.
In response to BloombergQuint's emailed queries, Infosys said the company does not make “any comments on speculation and rumours”. Phone calls to Nilekani and Venkatesan went unanswered.
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The current leadership crisis at Infosys was triggered by several differences between co-founder and former chairman NR Narayana Murthy and the board. Last week, this resulted in the resignation of managing director and chief executive officer Vishal Sikka. Murthy has alleged governance lapses in the acquisition of Panaya and the subsequent departures of then chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal and general counsel David Kennedy. Murthy's demand for an independent investigation was met by the board which claimed the report did not find any wrongdoing. But the board's refusal to make the investigation reports public triggered another war of words with Murthy.
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Nilekani was previously the co-chairman of the board of directors of Infosys, which he co-founded in 1981. He served as a director on the company's board till July 2009 and has held various other posts, including those of CEO and MD, president, and chief operating officer. He left Infosys to build out India's unique identification programme and served as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the rank of a cabinet minister.
He quit the post in 2014 to contest the Lok Sabha election from South Bangalore but lost to a BJP candidate. Since then, he has continued to evangelise the use of technology and digital identification in government schemes.
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