Infosys’s board of directors meeting saw the resignation of Dr. Vishal Sikka as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Vishal Sikka was appointed the Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. U B Pravin Rao as the Interim-Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
A press release for the succession plan for appointment of a new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has been operationalised by the Board and a search for a new CEO has started.
The company’s stock tanked nearly 10 percent down on the back of the news.
An Infosys statement said in his new role Sikka would continue to focus on strategic initiatives, key customer relationships and technology development. He will report to the company’s board and receive an annual salary of $1 during his tenure.
In a filing to BSE, the company said: “Sikka reiterated his belief in the great potential of Infosys, but cited among his reasons for leaving a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing the management’s ability to accelerate the company’s transformation.”
Differences were simmering between NR Narayana Murthy, one of the Infosys founders, and Sikka for some time, with the former repeatedly criticising the latter’s policies in the organisation.
In an interview with a business daily published on Friday, Murthy had revived his diatribe against Sikka, saying some of the board members felt the Silicon Valley import was more of a CTO material and not fit for the CEO position.
