Nandan Nilekani: A profile of the man who's a true technocrat

BANGALORE, INDIA - SEPTEMBER 1, 2016: Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, photographed at Better Place office in Bangalore. (Photo by Hemant Mishra/Mint via Getty Images)

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Nandan Nilekani, one of the co-founders of Infosys, has been brought back to head India’s second-largest software technology exporter, even as the turmoil over the exit of Vishal Sikka spills over into this week.

An electrical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, he co-founded Infosys in 1981, and went on to hold several positions at the company, including that of chief operating officer, CEO, President and Managing Director.

He took over the top job from Founder NR Narayana Murthy in 2002, and stayed on in the CEO role until 2007. He was succeeded by S Gopalakrishnan.

In 2009, he left Infosys to become Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Nilekani held the role till 2014 before resigning to unsuccessfully contest Lok Sabha elections in Bengaluru.

He is the Chairman of EkStep, a non-profit literacy platform- based in Bengaluru, and also invests in startups, most notable among which is TeamIndus, a startup that is planning a lunar mission.

During his tenure as CEO, Infosys outpaced sales growth compared to its competitors, even though margins came under some pressure.

He wrote "Imagining India" in 2008, his take on the future of India based on his understanding and learnings from heading Infosys.

In 2015, he co-authored "Rebooting India" with his UIDAI colleague Viral Shah, in which they make the case for using Aadhaar, to help eliminate distortions, biases and fraud.

However, because of his clean image and largely blemish-free career, investors have rallied for his return at the helm after Vishal Sikka stepped down on August 18.

Employees who were at Infosys during Nilekani's tenure describe him as practical, approachable and a true technocrat. His UIDAI days colleagues describe him as extremely focused, and being open to different kinds of ideas about implementing things.

Moneycontrol reported on Tuesday that domestic institutional investors have written to the Infosys Board asking for the return of Nilekani.

According to the signatories of the letter, Nilekani enjoys the confidence of customers, stakeholders and employees and his return to the board would instil credibility.

While it has been reported that he is trying to mediate a discussion between the Board and founders, Nilekani has not spoken officially about the ongoing issues at the company. Former CFO V Balakrishnan and former Human Resources officer Mohandas Pai have been vocal in their criticism of Infosys's Board and corporate governance issues.

Infosys has been in the eye of a storm after Founder NR Narayana Murthy raised corporate governance concerns at the company under Sikka’s watch. The issues escalated over the past six months, leading to Sikka stepping down citing slander by the founders.