Hardware/Software DevelopmentNews & Analysis

Infosys CFO MD Ranganath Steps Down

Infosys

Indian IT major Infosys saw yet another top brass exit with its Chief financial officer (CFO) MD Ranganath’s resignation on Saturday. He is among four top executives who have left since January. Two months ago, Sangita Singh, who was executive vice president and head of its $750-million healthcare and life sciences business resigned. Around the same time, Nitesh Banga, who was head of the manufacturing vertical, left.

In January, around the time Parekh joined, Rajesh Krishnamurthy, who was president and head of Europe, quit after 26 years with the company. In a statement, Infosys announced that the Board of Directors at its meeting accepted the resignation of  as the Chief Financial Officer and a key managerial personnel. Ranganath will continue in his current position as Chief Financial Officer till November 16, 2018. The Board will immediately commence the search for the next Chief Financial Officer.

In tendering his resignation, Ranganath stated that, “After a successful career spanning 18 years in Infosys including as CFO for the last 3 crucial years, I now plan to pursue professional opportunities in new areas.” Commenting further, Ranganath added, “I am grateful to Infosys for giving me the opportunity of serving as CFO of this global iconic company. I am proud that over the last 3 years, during a critical phase of the company, we delivered strong and consistent financial outcomes, maintained high standards of financial reporting, built a world class finance team, further strengthened the company’s competitive position and thereby enhanced value to the stakeholders. I thank the Board, management team, my colleagues in the finance team and all the stakeholders for their wholehearted support during my tenure. I wish the management team all the best as I pursue opportunities outside the company.”

Nandan M Nilekani, Chairman of the Board said, “Over the last 18 years Ranga has played a pivotal role in the growth and success of Infosys. During his long stint in the company, I have seen him in a wide spectrum of leadership roles and in each of them he has delivered results with distinction. With Ranga as CFO, the company has in the last 3 crucial years, delivered a strong and resilient financial performance on multiple fronts, implemented an efficient capital allocation policy and earned the respect of all stakeholders through enhanced value creation. On behalf of the Board, I thank Ranga for his excellent contribution to the company and wish him all the very best in his endeavors.”

Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer said, “Ranga and I have worked closely over the past few quarters in shaping the strategic direction of the company. I admire his strong financial acumen, deep understanding of the company’s business and ability to deliver consistent results. He played a crucial role as the CFO and provided strong leadership for the company. I am confident that over the next few months Ranga will ensure a smooth transition. I thank him for his lasting contribution and wish him all the best.”

During his long tenure of 18 years in Infosys, Ranga has been a part of the Infosys Leadership team and has played several leadership roles in the areas of consulting, finance, strategy, risk management and M&A and has worked closely with the Board and its committees in formulating and executing strategic priorities for the company.

Despite praises from the company, industry sources said that it was quite unusual for a CFO to quit before the board could find a replacement for him, while the board has said that it will start the search for a person to replace him immediately.

Infosys is still struggling with instability at the top, a year after former CEO Vishal Sikka exited and eight months after  Salil Parekh took over that position. In an interview with Times of India, Nirmalya Kumar, Lee Kong Chian professor of marketing at Singapore Management University and distinguished fellow at Insead Emerging Markets Institute, made an interesting observation. He said that even though on paper Infosys is an outstanding company, things have been muddied for top executives because of lack of clarity on where the real power in the company lies. “The recent departures, not necessarily of the CFO, is symptomatic of the problem that it is not clear as CEO/CFO who do you report to. The Infosys board or Narayana Murthy, or both? Who is in charge? Despite having no formal governance role, Murthy clearly does not shy away from attempting to run the company through press pronouncements. It is depressing to see someone who was previously seen as a legitimate Indian corporate icon attempting to sabotage their own creation,” he says.

However, Vijay Govindarajan, Coxe distinguished professor at Tuck at Dartmouth, informed the site, such turnover is not unusual in the IT world, given the fast pace at which it is moving. He says there’s a good deal of turnover in both Silicon Valley startups as well as among digital giants. “In that sense, it is, in and by itself, not a concern a few senior leaders at Infosys have left. If anything, it will give them an opportunity to bring fresh talent,” he commented.

Leave a Response