BANGALORE, India: The Board of
Directors met today and announced the following changes to the Board.
- Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy appointed Chairman Emeritus.
- Mr. K. V. Kamath named as the Chairman of the Board.
- Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan named as the Co-Chairman of the Board.
- Mr. S. D. Shibulal named as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing
Director.
The appointments are effective from August 21, 2011. The decision of the
Board is based on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee. Speaking
on the occasion, Prof. Jeffrey S. Lehman, Chairman of the Nominations
Committee said,
"This is a great moment for Infosys. These three leaders meld an
extraordinary range of talents and experiences with a united commitment to
drive the company to unprecedented levels of accomplishment while remaining
true to its historic values. We could not be in better hands."
Chairman of the Board
Kundapur Vaman Kamath is currently an Independent Director on the Board
of Infosys. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of
ICICI Bank Limited, India's second largest bank. Kamath has a degree in
mechanical engineering as well as one in management studies from the Indian
Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one
of India's highest civilian honors, in 2008. He was given the Lifetime
Achievement Award at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2008; was
named 'Businessman of the Year' by Forbes Asia and The Economic Times
'Business Leader of the Year' in 2007; Business Standard's 'Banker of the
Year' and CNBC-TV18's 'Outstanding Business Leader of the Year' in 2006;
Business India's 'Businessman of the Year' in 2005; and CNBC's 'Asian
Business Leader of the Year' in 2001. He has been given an honorary Ph.D. by
the Banaras Hindu University.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. K. V. Kamath said, "Infosys is a company
which has been built by its founders, led by the visionary leader Mr. N. R.
Narayana Murthy, who as its Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director and
then as its Chairman and Chief Mentor, provided Infosys its thought
leadership over the years. This is an innovation-led company, with a core of
outstanding professionals that has always set the highest standards and has
built a unique culture. I feel greatly honoured to have been asked to be the
Chairman of Infosys by the Board of Directors and accept this responsibility
with a deep sense of humility."
Co-Chairman of the Board
Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan (Kris), a co-founder of the Company, has been
serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director since June 22,
2007. Kris is recognized as a global thought leader. He was selected to be on
Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers compiled by Des
Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, in association with the IE Business School,
Madrid, and the London Business School's Management Innovation Lab. Kris has
received many honors including Padma Bhushan. Kris holds a Master's degree in
Physics and Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan said, "I am happy and
honoured that the Board has requested me to take on the responsibility of
Executive Co-Chairman. I look forward to working with Vaman and Shibu, post
August 20th, when Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy retires from the Board as
Chairman and Chief Mentor. Our goal is to strengthen and grow Infosys further
while maintaining the trust and confidence reposed in us by all the
stakeholders - clients, employees, investors and shareholders,
vendor-partners, the government of the land, and society."
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Mr. S. D. Shibulal is one of the co-founders and currently serves as the
Chief Operating Officer of Infosys Technologies Limited. He has over three
decades of leadership experience in IT services industry. He has played a
pivotal role in the Infosys journey and a seminal role in the evolution of
the Global Delivery Model which is now the de-facto industry standard for
delivery of outsourced IT services. Mr. S. D. Shibulal has a Master's degree
in Physics from the University of Kerala and an MS in Computer Science from
the University of Boston.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. S. D. Shibulal said, "I am honored to be
appointed the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of this great
organization. In the last 30 years, Infosys has established itself as an
industry leader. Under Kris's leadership, Infosys has scaled greater heights
and has become a respected global brand. Vaman is a well-known and
highly-respected corporate leader. As we look ahead, we will ensure that this
leadership transition is smooth as all other transitions have been in the
past. We are also making other organizational changes to strengthen our
market position and ability to serve our clients better."
Chairman Emeritus
The Board of Directors unanimously invited Mr. N R Narayana Murthy to be
the Chairman Emeritus effective August 21, 2011. This is in recognition of
his founding the company, mentoring his co-founders, and nurturing the
organization over the last thirty years.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy said, "I am thankful
to the Nominations Committee for doing an admirable job of succession
planning and continuing the Infosys tradition of a sound succession strategy.
I am glad they have found a perfect team to strengthen customer, investor and
employee connect on the one-hand, and world-class board governance on the
other hand. Vaman is, in my opinion, one of the finest corporate leaders of
modern India. Kris has demonstrated high-class performance during testing
times for the industry and the company. I congratulate Shibu on being
appointed the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director. I have no doubt he
will do an excellent job like Kris did. Vaman, Kris and Shibu will make an
ideal team. I am grateful to the Board for appointing me as the Chairman
Emeritus and providing me an opportunity to add value to the Board, the
Executive Management and every Infoscion if asked by them."
About Infosys Technologies Limited
Many of the world's most successful organizations rely on the 1,30,820
people of Infosys to deliver measurable business value. Infosys provides
business consulting, technology, engineering and outsourcing services to help
clients in over 30 countries build tomorrow's enterprise.
For more information about Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), visit
http://www.infosys.com
Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects
are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to
these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties
regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates,
our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including
those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India,
our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost
overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration,
restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to
manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key
focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures,
our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions,
liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies
in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of
governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts,
legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India,
and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic
conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our
future operating results are more fully described in our United States
Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 and on Form 6-K for the
quarters ended June 30, 2010, September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2010.These
filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time,
make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including
statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time
to time by or on behalf of the company.
Contact
Investor Avishek Lath, India Sandeep Mahindroo, USA
Relations +91(80)4116-7744 +1(646)254-3133
Avishek_lath@infosys.com sandeep_mahindroo@infosys.com
Media Priyanka Waghre, India Peter McLaughlin, USA
Relations +91-95388-77561 +1(213)268-9363
priyanka_waghre@infosys.com Peter_McLaughlin@infosys.com
SOURCE Infosys Technologies Ltd