In a rare departure from his previous stance, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy admitted he was “completely wrong”, referring to the company’s policy of keeping family members of the company’s founders away from leadership positions.
The only departure from this may have been the short stint that Rohan Murty had with the company in 2013 — when he served as his father’s executive assistant. However, both father and son departed the company in 2014. Murty’s was not a leadership role, and other children of founder’s have not worked at the company.
Reacting to a question on whether Infosys’s succession concerns would have been addressed if children of founders were allowed, Narayana Murthy said that he was wrong in his earlier stance.
“I think I was depriving this organisation of legitimate talent. I take back whatever I said. I think that every individual must have the same opportunity as every other individual if he or she is considered the best person for the role,” he said.
Explaining why he held his previous view, Murthy said he embraced that idea initially because he “was afraid that some people may bring undeserving candidates and put them in positions”, adding that he wanted the future of the company to be strong.
“I was completely wrong, I take back that. I admit I was wrong. Today, my view is that you should not worry about what nationality, what heritage, or whose son or daughter you are, as long as you have the best competence for a position. But, you have to go through the proper process of maturing in the organisation before being given a suitable position or responsibility,” he added.
Nilekani buttressed the point by adding that this did not mean that there would be a practice of reverse discrimination.
The succession plan of Infosys was in focus at the company’s 40th anniversary celebrations on December 14, as non-Executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani said that there is no plan B if whoever he hands over the reins to doesn’t work out for the company.
“…I’ll be handing over to a chairman at whatever point that I exit from the scene, who will be a non-founder. There’s no plan B now,” he said, adding that while he has maintained that he will stay at the company for as long as is needed, he does not want to stay for too long.
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