Vishal Sikka has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Infosys with immediate effect, the company stated in a communication to the exchanges on Friday morning.
Sikka cited among his reasons for leaving "a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing management's ability to accelerate the company's transformation".
Sikka has been appointed as Executive Vice-Chairman while Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao will now take over as the interim MD and CEO of the software major.
Infosys said that the succession plan for appointment of a new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has been operationalised by the board and a search for the same has been commenced.
Murthy vs Sikka
Sikka 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.
Analysts said Sikka's appointment, given his background working for product companies such as SAP, would help Infosys -- a service company -- boost innovation and keep up with advances in technologies.
Also Read: Narayana Murthy hits back at Infosys board: Here's the complete statement
The CEO, the first appointed from outside Infosys, saw the company made progress on several fronts: revenue growth increased, attrition fell and the company made advances on revenue mix, revenue per employees and upped its play on technologies such as automation.
But soon, Sikka came under fire from Murthy himself, who attacked several decisions taken at Infosys besides Sikka's supposed lavish lifestyle.
Sikka maintained a studied silence on Murthy's public attacks, but the final straw appeared to be a letter by the co-founder, leaked today, in which he said Sikka was only 'CTO material, not CEO material'.
"Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks. Allegations that have been repeatedly proven false and baseless by multiple, independent investigations," Sikka wrote in his resignation letter.
"But despite this, the attacks continue, and worse still, amplified by the very people from whom we all expected the most steadfast support in this great transformation. This continuous drumbeat of distractions and negativity over the last several months/quarters, inhibits our ability to make positive change and stay focused on value creation."
The board, which has sided with Sikka, attacked Murthy's campaign for carrying out 'continuous assaults' against the CEO.
Also Read: Sikka’s exit causes ‘Vishal’ hole of almost Rs 1,000 crore in Murthy’s portfolio
"The Board is profoundly distressed by the unfounded personal attacks on the members of our management team that were made in the anonymous letters and have surfaced in recent months," read the communication to the exchanges.
Executive director Ravi Venkatesan told the board had no intention of inviting Murthy back at Infosys for a formal role.
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