Infosys Appoints Vishal Sikka As CEO And MD, Murthy As Chairman Emeritus

IT giant Infosys has appointed Vishal Sikka as its chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) with effect from June 14. Sikka will also be inducted as a whole-time director of the board. However, he will formally take over as CEO and MD on August 1, 2014, after the current CEO and MD SD Shibulal steps down. Prior to this appointment, Sikka was a member of the executive board of SAP AG, a German software company. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University.

NR Narayana Murthy and S Gopalakrishnan will also quit as executive chairman and executive vice-chairman, respectively, on June 14 and Murthy will be designated as chairman emeritus with effect from October 11. The board has also elevated UB Pravin Rao (currently president and whole-time director of the board) as the chief operating officer.

Commenting on his appointment, Sikka said, “I am honoured to lead Infosys, an iconic company built by pioneers in the technology industry. I look forward to working with and learning from talented Infoscions around the world. Computing technology is reshaping every industry in every walk of life. We, at Infosys, have a unique opportunity to deliver breakthrough solutions that will bring greater value to our clients, employees, investors and other stakeholders. I am grateful to the Infosys Nominations and Governance Committee, KV Kamath, Narayana Murthy and board (of directors) for (giving me) this opportunity.”