Repeated 'assaults' by Narayana Murthy led to Vishal Sikka's exit, says Infosys board

Vishal Sikka | Infosys: The former CEO and MD of the IT giant was hand-picked by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy in 2014 to lead the company during a time when it was battling a severe slowdown, amid broader challenges in the industry. But soon, Sikka came under fire from Murthy himself, who attacked several decisions taken at Infosys besides Sikka's supposed lavish lifestyle. For Sikka, the final straw appeared to be a leaked letter by the co-founder, in which he said Sikka was only 'CTO material, not CEO material'. The board, which sided with Sikka at the time, attacked Murthy's campaign for carrying out 'continuous assaults' against the CEO. (Image: Reuters)

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Infosys has lashed out at Narayana Murthy saying repeated 'assaults’ by the co-founder against the board has led to the resignation of CEO Vishal Sikka.

“Mr. Murthy's continuous assault, including this latest letter, is the primary reason that the CEO, Dr. Vishal Sikka, has resigned despite strong Board support,” a note to the exchanges said. A report in the Mint newspaper today said Murthy had claimed in an e-mail to his advisors that he had been told by at least three independent directors that Sikka was more chief technology material (CTO) than CEO material.

The letter pointed out that Murthy’s letter contains factual inaccuracies, already-disproved rumours, and statements extracted out of context from his conversations with Board members. It also noted that the Board has, over the course of the past year, tried to resolve the concerns raised by the founders without compromising its independence. However, the dialogues have not been fruitful.

Here's the full text of the letter by the Infosys Board

The letter went on to list the achievements of Infosys under Sikka’s leadership, adding, “For Mr. Murthy to imply– with no evidence whatsoever – that three well-respected international law firms, members of the Infosys Board and certain employees are engaged in some grand global conspiracy to conceal information is not tenable on its face."

The company also categorically rejected any speculation or allegation of discord between Infosys board and Sikka.

Separately, in a conference call with investors, co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan thanked Sikka for making Infosys ‘relevant again’.

Venkatesan said investor confidence is crucial and the Board is hopeful of being able to stay the course, but stressed the Board has no intention of inviting Narayana Murthy to be a part of the formal governance of the company.

Sikka, however, opted to make no reference to Murthy making no direct mention of the co-founder both in his resignation letter and e-mail to employees.