Having a good heir day

After Infosys honcho Narayana Murthy, said on Monday that he does not see his children joining the company in the near future, the succession debate has intensifiedu00a0u00a0

Information & Technology czar, Narayana Murthy's decision to retire formally from Infosys in August 2011 has stirred speculations and assumptions in India's silicon city.

Names like Kris Gopalakrishnan, K V Kamath and Deepak M Satwalekar are racing through the minds of Bangaloreans, who are now busy playing guessing games about the next chief of this global software company.

Super six
Established in 1981, Infosys Technologies Limited with its headquarters in Bangalore is the brainchild of Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy. He started the company with an initial capital of USD 250 in collaboration with six of his co-founders, Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, SD Shibulal, K Dinesh, NS Raghavan and A Arora. Following Murthy's announcement to retire once he turns 65 next year, a nomination committee has been specially established to choose his successor. Jeffrey Sean Lehman, an independent director of Infosys is heading this committee, which comprises K V Kamath and HDFC Standard Life Insurance CEO Deepak M Satwalekar among others. In fact, Murthy's statements to various publications assure that India will get its next IT chief well before his retirement in August 2011.

Right mix
Saying that the next chief of Infosys should possess the right mix of strength and simplicity, Tinu Cherian (30), ex- Infoscion and presently a senior software engineer in Juniper Networks said, " I vote for Nandan Nilekani. Both he and Murthy have similar charisma." Others agree with him.

Stressing that the next chief should be a visionary, who would hold and carry forward Murthy's values, Raghunandan Ratnaparkhi, an associate consultant at TATA Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) said, "Nandan Nilekani should lead this organisation. Even if he does not lead, he should be the chief mentor till a new leadership is ready to take over."

Wide vision
But Nilekani is not the only option, it seems that Bangaloreans are spoilt for choice. With various names crossing their minds, techies in the city emphasised that a wide vision and a wish to expand Infosys globally should be the main aims of the next chief.

For many, like Praveen Kamath, the general manager and global head of talent acquisition Wipro, foresight more than anything else should be the main attribute in anyone, who heads Infosys next.

u00a0"K V Kamath will be my choice. He is responsible for bringing up a lonely private bank to the ranks of one of the top-notch banks in India and thus redefining the entire concept of the banking industry in India. He will also be successful in helping Infosys to scale new heights," said Kamath.

Inspires youth
For many, somebody with the ability to inspire youth to create new milestones should be the next Murthy.u00a0

Saying that anybody replacing Murthy should have the vision to achieve in one year what others can achieve in five years, IT analyst Deb Sircar from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said, "Suhas Gopinath founder CEO, and chairman, Globals Inc, an IT company should replace Murthy as he inspires Indian youth. He shows how with sheer determination, one can accomplish anything in life."

While speculation is rife about who would be the future IT icon, city software professionals think that this is also the chance for new blood to prove its worth. Many of these professionals believe that somebody fresh and young should follow in Murthy's footsteps.

Outside Infosys
"He should be someone young and not from within Infosys. Just like Ratan Tata, who is looking for his successor far and wide, Infosys should also have wide vision," said Meenakshi Gairola, partner in Ideaken, a private software company.

Though some of them believe that someone from Infosys should be heading it for a better understanding of the company and its functions. "Someone from Infosys should be the next head. Being a part of it, he or she would know the organisation well. This will also ensure open and honest communication between the chief and the employees," said Sahil Gupta, research and development design engineer from Nokia.

Rohan Murthy?
However, interestingly enough, none of the techies think Murthy's children or his co-founders should lead Infosys. Inexperience and extreme youth seemed to have marred the chances of Rohan Murthy (son), Shruthi Shibulal (daughter of Shibulal, co-founder of Infosys) and Akshatha Murthy (daughter), who are well established in their own fields.

Stressing that Infosys is essentially a public company, Meenakshi Gairola said, "It is not a family business. So Rohan Murthy cannot just take over because it is his dad's company."

More than the fact that Infosys is a professional company, according to some, the children are not yet ready to undertake such a huge responsibility. Admitting that it would be too soon for the children to enter the business, Cherian said, "All the children are young and inexperienced. They need to gather enough experience and then take this up. Now is not the time."

Missing Murthy
Whether they agree upon the candidate or not, all the techies unanimously agreed that with or without Murthy, Infosys should work towards its advancement. "Murthy is iconic and is replaceable. But the company is built on values and intellect, seeds sown by the founders. Infosys will definitely miss Murthy but the show will go on," signs off Cherian.