Vishal Sikka Named CEO of Infosys From August 1

Vishal Sikka named Infosys CEO; Murthy to quit as chairman As was being speculated recently, Indian technology major Infosys announced Thursday Vishal Sikka will take over as CEO and MD of the company with effect from August 1. 

As was being speculated recently, Indian technology major  Infosys announced Thursday Vishal Sikka will take over as CEO and MD of the company with effect from August 1. Sikka, who was earlier on the executive board of SAP AG, will take over from SD Shibulal, and said he was humbled to be leading an "iconic pioneer" in the IT industry. 

After completing his education, Sikka worked at Xerox's research Palo Alto Labs, but later ventured out on his own. He started his first company, iBrain, along with his brother, which was later acquired by PatternRX, Inc. His second startup Bodha.com was acquired by Peregrine Systems, where Sikka worked as Vice President for Platform Technologies, post the acquisition.

Sikka completed his schooling from Rosary High School, Baroda where his father worked as an officer in Indian Railways. After his Computer Engineering from MS University, Baroda, Sikka finished his BS in Computer Science from Syracuse University and his doctorate from Stanford University in artificial intelligence.

Sikka is a well known figure among the Silicon Valley elite and was the closest to Hasso Plattner, founder of SAP.

Murthy to step down on July 14

The company also announced a host of other top-level changes: founder NR Narayana Murthy, who returned from retirement to lead the company as executive chairman, will step down from June 14, and will be appointed Chairman-Emeritus. S Gopalakrisnan will step down as Executive Vice Chairman while KV Kamath will become the Non-Executive Vice Chairman of the Board. 

The company also elevated UB Pravin Rao as chief operating officer, while Murthy’s son Rohan Murty, who joined as executive assistant to his father, will leave the company on June 14. “I am pleased with the selection of Dr Vishal Sikka as our new CEO,” Murthy said in a press release. 

“Vishal brings valuable experience as a leader of a large global corporation. His illustrious track record and value system make him an ideal choice to lead Infosys.” Sikka will become the first non-founding member CEO of the company established in 1981 by Murthy, along with six colleagues, who were earlier working with Patni Computers.

 Infosys grew rapidly in the '90s to become the posterboy of the Indian IT industry, capitalising on a global services-outsourcing boom. But the company was left behind by its less-glamorous rival TCS in the latter part of the last decade, as changing industry dynamics coupled with internal challenges, witnessed the re-entry of Murthy last year and sparked a virtual exodus of top-level staff. 

Experts said Sikka’s appointment will put to rest the intense speculation surrounding the top post at the company and will likely bring stability to the top deck. Reacting to the news of the appointment, former CFO V Balakrishnan said he hopes Sikka will be able to meet the challenge of turning around Infosys. “Sikka has been a products man but the whole services business is changing too, and becoming more product-oriented with respect IP, etc.” On the news of Murthy stepping down as executive chairman, Balakrishnan said it was the right move as the new CEO would want to have his own executive team to implement his plans for the firm.