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Business News/ Companies / News/  Narayana Murthy says ‘extremely anguished’ after Infosys board blames him for Sikka exit
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Narayana Murthy says ‘extremely anguished’ after Infosys board blames him for Sikka exit

Narayana Murthy says he i s 'extremely anguished by allegations, tone and tenor of statements made by the Infosys board' over the resignation of Vishal Sikka as CEO

NR Narayana Murthy says he would reply to the allegations in the right manner and forum and at appropriate time. Photo: MintPremium
NR Narayana Murthy says he would reply to the allegations in the right manner and forum and at appropriate time. Photo: Mint

Infosys Ltd co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy on Friday said he was “extremely anguished" by a statement issued by the board of the company, which blamed him for the exit of chief executive officer Vishal Sikka.

In a brief four-paragraph statement, Murthy said: “I voluntarily left the Board in 2014 and am not seeking any money, position for children or power. My concern primarily was the deteriorating standard of corporate governance which I have repeatedly brought to the attention of the board."

His statement was in response to one by the company which said: “Mr. Murthy’s continuous assault, including his latest letter is the primary reason that the CEO, Dr. Vishal Sikka has resigned despite strong board support."

“Mr. Murthy’s campaign against the board and the company has had the unfortunate effect to undermine the company’s efforts to transform itself. The board has been engaged in a dialogue with the founder to resolve his concerns over the course of a year, trying earnestly to find feasible solutions within the boundaries of law and without compromising its independence. These dialogues have unfortunately not been successful."

It added: “The board declines to speculate about Mr. Murthy’s motive for carrying out this campaign, including the latest letter."

Murthy claimed in an email, dated 9 August, to some of his advisers that he had been told by at least three independent directors of the company that Sikka was more chief technology officer (CTO) material than chief executive officer (CEO) material, Mint reported on 18 August.

Murthy has publicly lambasted Infosys over the course of the past six-seven months for lapses in corporate governance. In his latest mail, he criticized the board for failing to uphold the company’s famed governance standards and not “creating checks and balances required in any well-run company."

He has in the past questioned the $200 million purchase of Panaya and generous severance payments made to former CFO Rajiv Bansal (part of which was stopped later) and to former general counsel David Kennedy.

Infosys said investigations it had instituted into alleged improprieties “unequivocally found that the complaints were false and that there was no evidence whatsoever of wrongdoing."

In his statement on Friday, Murthy said he had been told by several shareholders who had read a whistle-blower report that it is hard to believe “a report produced by a set of lawyers hired by a set of accused, giving a clean chit to the accused, and the accused refusing to disclose why they got a clean chit. They say that this is not the way an impartial and objective investigation should be held."

While saying it was below his dignity to respond to baseless allegations levelled by the company, Murthy concluded: “I will reply to these allegations in the right manner and in the right forum and at the appropriate time."

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Published: 18 Aug 2017, 02:45 PM IST
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