Infosys founders raise a stink on governance, question Vishal Sikka's pay

Board told about Sikka's pay hike, generous severance packages, disclosures
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Founders of Infosys have flagged concerns over transparency and corporate governance at second-largest software exporter in the country. They have questioned the compensation package of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka and the severance package to its former chief compliance officer David Kennedy.
The founders, led by N R Narayana Murthy, have asked how the company would achieve the $20-billion target by 2020, as set by Sikka, in an uncertain global environment, said sources. Last month, Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and Kris Gopalakrishnan raised their concerns with the board.
The current projections are contrary to how Murthy built the company, with his mantra of “under promise over delivery”. Murthy and the five founders had stepped down as promoter-shareholders to ensure that their influence over the company reduced after they moved away from executive roles.
Since taking over as CEO in August 2014, Sikka has pushed the company to adopt design thinking, brought in automation and invested in artificial intelligence platforms, anticipating a shift in customer spending from traditional services to cloud. The shift in culture towards a less-people more-software-driven business approach also has seen several executives quit.
It includes former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal and Kennedy, who resigned on December 31.
“There is a question mark on disclosures. Infosys was a gold standard in corporate governance. It doesn’t have that premium now,” said a person familiar with the developments.
Since Sikka took over as the company’s first non-founder CEO, several questions have been raised at Infosys that, analysts say, have not been answered satisfactorily. Read More

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