Infosys founders suggested Pai, Balakrishnan as board members

After some co-founders wrote a letter to the board of IT major company seeking a review of corporate governance practices, it is emerging that they are keen to install 'value-based people' who have a deeper understanding of the company on the board.The founders, including Narayana Murthy, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Nandan Nilekani, had informally suggested names like former HR head Mohandas Pai and former Chief Financial Officer V Balakrishnan as possible board additions, sources close to the development have told CNBC-TV18.However, the board of the company rejected the suggestions.Later, Infosys founders also suggested the name of Marti G Subrahmanyam, who was part of Infosys till 2011, as a possible addition to the board.The reason behind the suggestions of the founders are to provide a continuity with the past and create a link with the present. Also, no founder of the company is currently on the board.The founders have also come to realise that in a very short period of time, there was a quick move to a professional non-executive board that created several issues and challenges.Concerns over the compensation of Chief Executive Vishal Sikka, the first non-founder chief has also been under the radar. Starting January, Sikka’s annual compensation is USD 11 million, up from USD 7.08 million last year. However, this also comes with higher component of stock options and relatively less part of the salary linked to variable pay. The current compensation has USD 3 million in fixed salary and USD 8 million variable component, subject to progress in achieving the target of becoming a USD 20 billion company by 2021.Questions were also raised on the severance package of former Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Bansal, and General Counsel David Kennedy. Bansal who quit in October 2015 was handed a severance package of Rs 17.38 crore, while Kennedy was paid USD 868,250 plus reimbursements for COBRA (insurance) continuation coverage over a period of 12 months after he quit in December. Severance offered to former Executive VP Michael Reh is also under debate.The appointment of independent director Punita Sinha, wife of Union Minister Jayant Sinha also raised eyebrows. Countering allegations of nepotism, Infosys in a notice had defended its decision, saying the former Senior Managing Director of Blackstone "will bring valuable perspectives to the Infosys Board". The discussions on the issue are still underway between the founders and the board.