EXIT INTERVIEW

I don’t believe in legacy: NRN

Infy Co-Founder Hangs Up Boots After Three Decades Without Any Regrets

Asha Rai, Sujit John & Mini Joseph Tejaswi TNN

    We met him, as always, in his tiny office in what Infosys calls the Heritage Building. It’s the oldest building on the 81-acre campus in Electronics City in Bangalore. Till Friday, his last day in the company he founded in 1981, N R Narayana Murthy continued to occupy that office, not bothering to shift to the far more modern corporate HQ that was built later and where the other founders sit. Modern technology, however, still excites him. He shows off a Logitech keypad he had just got for his iPad. “It also acts as a cover for the tablet,” he says, his face all animated. Excerpts from an interview:
It’s your last day at Infosys, how do you feel?
    On Thursday my son was asking me the same thing. I said till the last day I have given whatever I could for this company. As somebody who doesn't believe in the past, does not believe in legacy, I think what is important is to do the best in the present so that I can create a bright future.
So what are your plans?
    My son asked me that too. I said I deserve to take it easy. If I want to go to my home-office I will go. When I want to read I will read. Any case, my external responsibilities, attending board meetings, all of that will continue. I don’t believe in the concept of second innings.
You are too young to say that.
    You have always been kind to me, but the reality is different (laughs).
You built an amazing organization. When you look
back what is that one thing that gives you satisfaction?
    Well, I think truly we are probably the only company in the world that sought respect in our vision statement. I may be wrong but I have not seen anybody else say that they want to be a globally respected company. Putting that in our vision statement reminded us that every time we take an action we have to ensure that this gives us respect from our stakeholders. When you are very small the governance issues are very small, the rules set is also very small. But right from day one, seeking respect from every stakeholder was the fundamental platform on which we have operated.
What persuaded you to put that in the vision statement?
    It was easy for people who came from a middle class background. We were told day after day that don’t do this, don’t use bad words, you must be honest, etc. If you found a rubber or pencil in the class and brought it home, parents would get upset and say why don’t you return it the next morning. So I suppose it was part of our DNA.
You are leaving Infosys at a point when the external world is talking about some sort of crisis in the company? Are others closing the gap with you?
    I don’t agree. I tell you, last year we grew 25.8%, when the industry average was 15 or 16%. We kept our margins. Just show me another company that has done it. We have the most stringent revenue recognition policy, most stringent depreciation policy, most stringent accounts receivables policy. Despite this we have grown at 25.8%, what crisis are they talking about?
    When we went public in 1993, I sat down with my younger colleagues and said look we will give both topline and bottomline guidance. Because, one, if I don’t know what I’m going to do in the next one quarter I should not be the CEO, and two, if I know what I’m gong to do and don't tell you, it is not fair. If both internal and external shareholders are not informed about the future of the company, I would be creating asymmetry of information and that would have led to insider trading. I said this is not accepted as long as I sit here. I’m satisfied as long as I reach my own guidance. We have not run this company looking at the ticker monitor or stock prices. Our focus is to keep clients and employees happy, following the best principles of governance and transparency.
Analysts loved you, not any longer. Why?
    You have to ask them. I still love them. You measure us by our standards, by what we say, and whether we achieve it or not.
You are saying Infosys has no performance problem?
    There is nothing wrong. But there is a lot that we can improve on. Last year why did we grow at 25.8%, we could have grown at 30.8%. That’s exactly what I asked my colleagues. But there’s no crisis. Everyone is very enthused about working harder, working smarter and improving.
The other issue people raise is about only promoters becoming CEOs…
This promoter thing is all in your minds. We have never thought of anything as promoters vs non-promoters. In this company, the salaries of the founders are much less than that of other top executives. I don’t think the founders have got any advantage. But if there is a person who has been universally agreed by the board of directors, by peers, by the juniors to be the best candidate to occupy a certain position, you have to give that person that position. You can’t penalize him just because he is a founder.
    Somebody who was in my office on Thursday was saying he could not imagine another company in India where somebody who founded the company, who still is the largest shareholder, moves out of the company at 65. It has never happened in the history of the country. That is what people should appreciate rather than talk about these other things.
There are those who say
that bringing people in from outside brings fresh ideas.
    If there is a good candidate internally, it is best to provide opportunities for that person. Otherwise you will de-motivate all others. When companies get into a scandal or a serious crisis, that is when they bring people from outside. Like it happened in Goldman Sachs. Also, if the benefit of bringing that person from outside far outweighs the cost.
When you look back, what were the toughest decisions you took?
    For me no decision has been difficult. I’m quite good at facing unpleasant situations. I look at data and take a decision. Most dispassionately.
Which were the most unpleasant ones?
    Most unpleasant was certainly the Phaneesh issue (asking Phaneesh Murthy, the company’s sales and marketing head, to go, following a sexual scandal). Phaneesh was a favourite of mine, even today I like him very much. His leaving was a very difficult one, because he was extremely competent, very bright fellow, I had an extraordinary equation with him. To let go of somebody like him was not easy.
    The second was to let go of GE’s business when they accounted for 25% of our business (GE had asked for lower billing rates). That was a very difficult one. But it was not really difficult for me. All my colleagues were shocked that I took that decision. I have never had any problems taking tough, unpleasant decisions.
No regrets in your career?
    No, God has been very kind to me. I have received a lot more from this society than I have been able to give to it.
Would you like to hold a public office? Once you said you would like to be ambassador to the US.
    That was 10-12 years ago. The logic then was, I was very comfortable with academia, lot of people mistake me for a professor. Also, I understand the corporate world in the US very well. I thought I would get the best out of both US academia and the corporate world for India.
Now that you have the time, would you consider some
position? The president of India?
    None of those things will ever happen. And I’m not waiting eagerly for it.
What will you do tomorrow (Murthy’s birthday)?
    My son and daughter will be with me on Saturday. My daughter came in this morning and will be leaving on Saturday. We don’t celebrate birthdays. We don’t cut cakes. Will go to a temple.