Infosys AGM: Shareholders seek better rewards, happy with return of Nandan Nilekani

8 | Infosys | Market Cap for the week ended October 30: Rs 4,51,753.23 crore crore | Loss during the week: 26,152.79 crore.

From commentary about the turbulence of the past year, to asking for better rewards for shareholders, Infosys' 37th Annual General Meeting made for an interesting Saturday on a rainy evening.

The AGM lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours at the Christ University Auditorium in Bengaluru, which was nearly packed with shareholders.

As soon as the management got done with its presentations, shareholders came up, asking detailed, sometimes probing questions.

Some even had suggestions for the software exporter: "We wish Infosys can start a global technical university, not just in India but also different parts of the world, for new subjects and technical areas in streams yet to be thought of."

However, most wanted better rewards for their shareholding.

Questioning the strategy of Infosys to increase shareholder value, one shareholder said steps like the Rs 13,000 crore buyback the company announced last year do not benefit small shareholders.

"There are six lakh small shareholders. Please look at stock splits. Please look at bonuses, please increase dividends from 75 percent to 100 percent. Small shareholders like me don’t take advantage of your generous buybacks," he said.

Another shareholder expressed happiness with the return of Nandan Nilekani as the non executive chairman of Infosys’ board last year.

"Our chairman should have never left the company," he said, adding that now that Nilekani was back, he would steer the company to success.

Others asked Infosys to consider investing in Bengaluru and Mumbai as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives, to look at improving city infrastructure conditions.

Another shareholder suggested, "Please see that Karnataka localites who are highly qualified are given preference," during campus hiring by Infosys.

There were also queries over the acquisitions of Panaya and Skava that were explained by the management.

Alluding probably to the issues faced by Infosys last year, which included a standoff between ex-CEO Vishal Sikka and co-Founder NR Narayan Murthy, one shareholder asked: “Does Infosys have a CEO backup plan?”

The highlight of the AGM though was Chief Financial Officer MD Ranganath.

"My most favourite (among the people on stage) is the CFO," said one lady identified only as Patel who joined the AGM through video conference from Mumbai.

Observing that Ranganath had put on some weight since the last AGM that made him look “charming”, Patel batted for a promotion for him and the company secretary AGS Manikantha.

A visibly embarrassed Ranganath, better known as Ranga, received reassuring pats on his back from CEO Salil Parekh who was seated next to him.

Later, answering questions that were raised, Infosys management said while employee attrition was a concern, high performer attrition was at 9.4 percent, and the company was taking up career development programmes.

Ranga said the research and development spend at Infosys was 0.6 percent of total revenue.

"And one last thing I can confirm is that my weight has indeed gone up," he concluded, leaving the attendees amused and appreciative.