Nandan Nilekani Appointed as New Chairman of Infosys Board

Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the new chairman of the Infosys board after accepting the resignation of R. Seshasayee along with the resignations of Vishal Sikka as the executive vice chairman, Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy as directors.

The second largest IT company of India saw a board shake up Thursday and the celebrated cofounder Nandan Nilekani returned to lead the company after a decade. These sweeping changes were made in an attempt to restore stability to the company and close the rift between Narayana Murthy and the board. Infosys confirmed the resignations and the appointments in a press release and also added that Nilekani had insisted on a clean slate as one of the primary conditions for his return.

Nandan Nilekani was also the chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India after serving as the CEO of Infosys between March 2002 to April 2007. Speaking about the appointment, Nilekani said he was happy to return to Infosys and looks forward to work with the other members of the board. “Thank Vishal Sikka for his service as the CEO of Infosys over the last three years and wish him well in his future endeavors,” he added. At present, as per the quarter ended June this year, the Nilekani family has a 2.29% stake in Infosys.

Recently, Vishal Sikka put in his papers and resigned from his position as the CEO of the IT firm citing “continuous distractions and disruptions,” as the reason for his resignation. The appointment of a co founder might end the mutual distrust between the Infosys board and Co Founder N. R. Narayana Murthy. Sikka’s exit came at a time when the IT services sector was undergoing turmoil due to automation, growing protectionism and shift towards digital leading to a plunge in the company’ shares. The company’s stock dipped in the early morning trade falling to Rs. 958.00 and wiped out nearly $4 billion of Infosys’s market value.