Infosys Ltd. on Saturday named Capgemini veteran Salil S. Parekh as CEO and MD, filling the vacancy created at the top following the sudden resignation of Vishal Sikka on August 18.
Mr. Parekh, who holds Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and was a member of the Group Executive Board at Capgemini, will join Infosys on January 2, 2018.
“He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry,” Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani said in a statement. “He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions.”
Mr. Parekh will need to tap all of that experience given that he would be taking the helm in the wake of a trying period for the company that saw its co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy engage in a very public spat with Mr. Sikka and Infosys’s erstwhile board over issues of corporate governance.
Following Mr. Sikka’s abrupt departure, Infosys had restructured its board and brought back Mr. Nilekani, another co-founder and former CEO, as non-executive chairman with a mandate to help find a new executive leader and restore confidence among customers and employees.
“I am happy that Infosys has appointed Mr. Salil Parekh as the CEO,” Mr. Murthy said in an e-mailed statement, signalling the incoming leader would have his backing. “My best wishes to him.”
Making ‘the fit’
“There are multiple fits in the IT services industry,” Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst, founder and CEO of Greyhound Research, said in a telephone interview. “Salil understands the Indian perspective and more importantly, he has the blessings of Nandan Nilekani and Mr. Murthy,” he said.
Still, Mr. Parekh had some “gearing up to do” as he had never headed a listed firm, Mr. Gogia added.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson of the Board’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee at Infosys said: “After a comprehensive global search effort, we are pleased to appoint Salil as the CEO and MD. He was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates.”
“Salil’s eminence is far stronger than many of the internal contenders,” Sanjoy Sen, a doctoral research scholar at Aston Business School, U.K., said over the phone.
“You have to play to the Indian as well as the global audience. Otherwise, you won’t be seen as one of them in the boardroom. That is what Salil is bringing, which is global experience and Indian grooming,” said Mr.Sen, who specialises in strategic governance and outsourcing.
Interim CEO U.B. Pravin Rao will step down on Jan. 2 and revert to his former role of Chief Operating Officer and whole-time director, Infosys said.
