Bangalore: In a surprise move, Infosys appointed Vishal Sikka, a former SAP board member, as CEO and Managing Director, while N R Narayana Murthy will step down as its Executive Chairman and will be designated as Chairman Emeritus.
Sikka, who will be inducted a whole-time director of the Board and CEO & MD (Designate) on June 14, 2014, will take over as CEO & MD from S D Shibulal on August 1, 2014. Shibulal will step down as CEO & MD and from the Board on July 31, 2014.
Sikka was, until recently, a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, leading all products and driving innovation globally. He has worked closely with leaders of global companies in building breakthrough business solutions. At SAP, he was responsible for all products, from traditional and cloud-based applications to technology and platform products including HANA, analytics, mobile and middleware. In addition, Sikka led multiple initiatives to accelerate innovation and research at SAP. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, USA.
The Board has also elevated U B Pravin Rao, President and whole-time director, as Chief Operating Officer, with effect from June 14, 2014.
In order to facilitate a smooth transition of responsibilities, Narayana Murthy and S Gopalakrishnan will continue on the Board till October 10, 2014 as the Non-executive Chairman and Non-executive Vice Chairman, respectively.
K V Kamath will become the Non-executive Chairman of the Board on October 11, 2014. In addition, the company has elevated twelve leaders to the position of Executive Vice-President with additional responsibilities.
The Executive Chairman’s office will be dissolved with effect from June 14, 2014. Rohan Murty, whose appointment was co-terminus with the Executive Chairman, will leave the company on June 14, 2014. The remaining members of the Chairman’s office will take up other responsibilities in the company.
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