Why Two Ex-Infosys Bosses Took The Poll Plunge

BANGALORE: This is perhaps a first for any major company in India. A former CEO and a former CFO of Infosys will contest the coming general elections — Nandan Nilekani for Congress from South Bangalore, and V Balakrishnan for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Central Bangalore.

Coincidence? Not entirely, said Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, executive director in RGF Executive Search. “The Infosys story is about possibilities, about dreams, conviction, integrity, and the success that knowledge can bring. Both (Nandan and Bala) come from that golden time when anything was possible, and perhaps there is a connection in what both plan to do,” she said.

Management consultant Harish Bijoor believes that Infosys is an eco-system of excellence. Rajagopal pointed out that Infosys has had a particularly strong reputation of leaders with a public or philanthropic bent, be it co-founder N R Narayana Murthy or Nilekani (he played a key role in BATF — Bangalore Agenda Task Force in the early 2000s), or TV Mohandas Pai (former CFO and HR head who has been very active in public spaces).

“It’s a part of their ethic, it seems. They have high believability, authenticity, and realize if they are true to themselves, people will listen, and they can grow collectively,” she said.

The industry is delighted at the turn of events. “It’s good to see high-profile corporate leaders opting for political careers,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon. Som Mittal, former president of IT industry body Nasscom, said the country needs a new breed of people, including technocrats, in government and opposition.