Don't think there is any boardroom battle: Infosys Chairman

Mumbai: Seeking to allay fears about a boardroom battle in the IT bellwether, Infosys Chairman R Seshasayee on Monday said there is no battle between the board members and promoters of the company.

At a press conference in Mumbai, he said, "I don`t think there is any battle. There is no conflict of interest, there is only convergence of interest.".

While backing independent directors D N Prahlad and Punita Kumar Sinha, Seshasayee also added that it is the job of the company`s board to listen to all.

Defending CEO Vishal Sikka's pay package, Seshasayee said that the compensation has been tied to very high levels of target achievements.

Suspicion about former CFO Rajiv Bansal's severance pay being hush money is deeply disturbing, Seshasayee added.

He also asserted that there will be no drop in scale of maintaining high gold standards of governance.

Stating that Infosys management has been engaging with promoters and all stakeholders, Seshasayee further added that Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas was not brought in to mediate but to give a road map on governance, notion of fight wrong.

Making his first public statement on the row that broke out after co-founders Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and Kris Gopalakrishnan wrote to Infosys Board questioning hike in CEO's compensation and severance pay to quiting executives, Sikka said the company is based on a very strong fabric.

"All this drama that has been going on in the media, it's very distracting. It takes away attention but underneath that there is a very strong fabric that this company is based," he said at an investor conference in Mumbai.

"And it is a real privilege for me to be its leader," he added.

Sikka said he has always shared a "heartfelt, warm relationship" with Murthy.

"My relationship with the founders? It is wonderful. I meet Mr Murthy quite frequently...I have always had a heartfelt warm relationship with Mr Murthy, probably meet him 4-5-6 times a year," he said, but added that he has not met the other founders off late.

Sikka's comments came after a media report said Murthy is calling off his fight with the board as he was confident the IT giant he co-founded will deal with the concerns raised about corporate governance.

But Murthy, who along with other co-founders holds some 13 per cent interest in Infosys, said he has not withdrawn his concerns.

"No, I have not withdrawn my concern. They have to be addressed properly by the Board and full transparency should be displayed and people responsible for it should become accountable," he told PTI.

Asked about his view on the integrity of Infosys Board members, Murthy said while all the member are "good intentioned people of high integrity, but even good people sometimes make mistakes".

"...Good leadership demands that they listen to all concerned shareholders, re-evaluate their decisions, and take corrective action. I hope they take corrective action soon and improve governance for a better future for the company," he added.

The founders have aired concerns about CEO Vishal Sikka's USD 11 million pay and expensive severance packages for former executives Rajiv Bansal (CFO) and David Kennedy (General Counsel).

With Agency Inputs