TIL Desk/Business/Bengaluru/ Vishal Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys, resigned from the company following months of acrimony with high-profile founders, led by NR Narayana Murthy, citing “malicious” and “personal attacks” on him.
While Sikka did not name Murthy for his exit, the board of the USD 10 billion firm blamed him for “continuous assault” through “factually inaccurate” and “already-disproved rumours” for the sudden resignation “despite strong Board support”.
Murthy, who left all board positions at Infosys before Sikka began his five-year term in August 2014, launched a counter-offensive saying that all he wanted as a shareholder was good governance and had neither questioned Sikka’s work nor sought money or position for his children.
Sikka, 50, a former German IT major SAP executive under whose three-year tenure Infosys’ revenue rose by about 25 per cent, said he faced “false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks”.
Infosys board in an unusually strong statement defended Sikka’s performance and ruled out a formal role for Murthy in the company’s governance. In February last year, Sikka’s term was mid-way extended by two more years till 2021 largely because of his performance.