Truck Between The Two Camps

바카라�Don바카라�t look at this as a battle,바카라� was what Infosys Chairman R. Sesha­sayee repeated several times during a marathon press conference the other day at Mumbai airport바카라�s Taj Santacruz. The situation was indeed unusual: the Board having to clarify on issues that were seemingly smouldering for months until N.R. Narayana Murthy spoke his mind in a newspaper interview.

Seshasayee, 68, is no stranger to Infosys: he was an independent director for four years before ste­pping in as the non-executive chairman in June 2015. He has known Murthy for three decades, and in the middle of this fortnight바카라�s flare-up, the Infosys founder told an interviewer that Seshasayee was a man of highest integrity. Yet, the auto industry veteran is leading the Infosys board when it has no founders or those managing operations in the company. The board, except for a couple of members, comprises people fairly new to Infosys.

바카라�Here we have some stakeholders with nothing other than the best interest of the organisation in their mind바카라�lot of passion, yes,바카라� said Seshasa­yee. 바카라�We are a bunch of professionals with no interests other than discharging our duties to the best of our abilities for the best interests of the company. There is no conflict but convergence of interests.바카라�

A chartered accountant, Seshasayee, or Sesh as he바카라�s known among peers, joined Ashok Leyland in 1976 after a stint with HLL. Over a 40-year car­eer at the truck-maker, he rose to become its vice chairman바카라�a position he held until July 2016. Infosys, he바카라�s said earlier, is a unique company because in India, other than the banks, 바카라�you do not have companies of large size with a professional board, professional management and a vast number of shareholders바카라�. While it바카라�s natural that there would be cultural changes, he reckons the company, under his watch, hasn바카라�t swerved from the framework of fundamental values. 바카라�But I have no hesitat­ion in saying the cultural milieu is different, and therefore there will be differences on perceptions on this,바카라� he told reporters on February 14.

When the Bhishmapitamaha바카라�as Vis­hal Sikka once likened Murthy to바카라�raised concerns of weakening corporate governance, it was Seshasayee바카라�s response that was keenly sought. For the present, given the support of the board, he doesn바카라�t intend to step down. 바카라�Shareholders have elected me to do a job, the Board has asked me to do a job. So long as the board doesn바카라�t say that you haven바카라�t done the job and go home, I have to do the job and I will do the job,바카라� he said. However, Seshasayee did reach out to Murthy. He later told investors that both agreed 바카라�that we should not have these kinds of interactions taking place through the media바카라�.

Shriram Subramanian of the proxy advisory firm InGovern reckons all this would serve as an alert for the board. 바카라�It바카라�s also a wake-up lesson for the founders to not air their views through the media,바카라� he says. 바카라�Obviously, they (board) haven바카라�t answered exactly what happens to Rajiv Bansal바카라�s suspended (severance) package, and why he was paid is still not clear. We don바카라�t exactly know the angst of Mr Murthy and whether those concerns are  shared by other founders because they have not made any letter public,바카라� he says. 바카라�If, for exa­mple, I compare the same situation with what happened with Elliott Management sending a letter to the Cognizant board, I know exactly, sitting here, the concerns and remedial actions they are suggesting.바카라� Still, he says, it바카라�s a pointer to the Board of Infosys that they are going to be under increasing scrutiny.

Seshasayee says dwelling too much on issues that don바카라�t add value could be distracting. 바카라�We live in a glasshouse, but don바카라�t stare too long.바카라�