NR Narayana Murthy returns at helm of Infosys
A second innings by a stalwart after he has hung his boots always makes for a difficult comeback. All eyes, therefore, will be on Mr NR Narayana Murthy as he takes charge of a struggling Infosys as its executive chairman a decade after he stepped aside (in the real sense). The reason for Mr Murthy's return is clear, which makes his task more onerous. Infosys has over the years grown at a tepid pace — almost half the rate at which the information technology industry has in the country. In the process, the iconic company has conceded significant space to rivals in the industry. Moreover, the firm has lost key executives such as Mohandas Pai, Amitabh Chaudhry and Nandan Nilekani — the last to the Union Government — thereby impacting the company's expansion and consolidation thrust. As one of the founders and the key driving force of Infosys, it is only natural that Mr Murthy should come to the firm's rescue at a critical time. One of the country's most respected business leaders, he has put his reputation at stake in returning, and he knows that. He has already said that the need of the hour is to “take quick, tough and firm decisions”. One can of course interpret this remark as some sort of indictment of the present management which appears to have failed in steering Infosys out of the crisis. But that is a simplistic value judgement. After all, the key personnel who have managed the affairs of the company are people of repute and have had impressive credentials. Yet, something has clearly gone wrong somewhere. That needs to be repaired. Mr Murthy will not just need to deploy his considerable managerial skills but also strengthen the moral fibre which distinguished Infosys from many of its competitors. There is no better candidate than him, given that Mr Murthy is known to have a heart in addition to cold-blooded business acumen. His record in philanthropy, for instance, is impeccable and difficult to match. Indeed, he has set a benchmark for his peers in the country to follow suit. (That many of them have still not shown the desired level of interest is a different matter.)
Since a company can be only as good as the personnel who manage it, Mr Murthy's first task should be to put in place a human resource strategy which is conducive to retaining key talent and weeding out non-performers. While doing so, he must ensure that his son Rohan Murthy, who joins him as an executive assistant, does not rub senior people the wrong way. Although there is no reason to believe that the junior Murthy has such ambitions or that his father will unleash him indiscriminately, the Infosys staff will be closely watching how things pan out. The new executive chairman will have to also address the potential fallout of a proposed US law which could contain Indian IT firms that are doing business with America. Since more than 60 per cent of Infosys' revenues come from the US, the importance cannot be underestimated.