Poor governance practised by previous board of Infosys was my main concern: Murthy

Murthy said he hoped the company`s management would rally behind Nandan Nilekani who was named as non-executive chairman last week.

New Delhi: Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy on Tuesday said that his main concern was the poor governance practised by the previous board of Infosys.

Defending his role in a months-long war of words with the company`s board that led to changes at the top, Murthy said that his actions were in the interest of shareholders.

“My actions have never been and never will be for individual or personal gain,” Murthy said during an investor call in Bangalore.

Murthy said he hoped the company`s management would rally behind Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder and a former Infosys CEO, who was named as non-executive chairman last week.

"Now we can all sleep better knowing Infosys is under leadership of Nandan Nilekani," he added.

This month, Vishal Sikka, the first CEO of Infosys drawn from outside its founders resigned, blaming Murthy for creating an "untenable atmosphere", sparking a sell-off and wiping billions of dollars off Infosys`s market value.

Sikka`s sudden exit sparked a sell-off that wiped billions of dollars off Infosys`s market value, forcing India`s No. 2 IT services firm to reshuffle its board and bring back Nilekani.

The return of Nilekani, who is credited with quadrupling Infosys` revenue to $2 billion, has cheered investors - he is widely expected to end the board`s row with founder executives, help clients and boost employee morale.

Nilekani told investors last week his priorities were to find a CEO, reconstitute the board and shape future strategy.

With Agency Inputs