Mr. N. R. Narayanamurthy, the iconic founder of Infosys, today handed over the executive chairmanship of the $2 billion firm to his long time colleague Nandan Nilekani. The journey that he embarked on decades back today has come to a very happy and fruitful end, with Infosys being one of the best managed and globally respected IT companies in the world. Even though he has stepped down as the executive chairman, Mr. Murthy would remain the non-executive chairman. His new role would include guiding the future course for Infosys and also mentoring Infosys employees.
I still have fond memories of the time when I met him and spent a few hours with him. It was during Techfest, the annual technology festival of IIT Bombay, when Mr. Murthy was invited as the guest speaker during the Lecture Sessions that were a part of the festival. I was asked to go and pick him up from his guest house. The moment I met him, I found him very to be a very simple and down-to-earth person - unlike so many CEOs and tech-honchos that I had met during the festival a year before that.
As we were coming to campus in the car, I asked him one question during our conversation. Where is Indian software industry headed and to prepare ourselves for future, as students what are the languages/technologies that we should focus on? His answer was very simple and direct. He said that the software industry in India is still in a nascent stage and that as foreign companies start recognizing the potential in India and our expertise, we are destined to make it big. But his words of caution were that we students are the people who are going to be at the helm in the years to come. How we groom ourselves and what we learn would determine the success of any industry in India as well as globally. And to my question on languages, he had replied with the typical IITian elan - learn any language but learn it inside out. That would help you master any language or technology later. It is all about concepts - the building blocks.
What he had prophesized years back is a reality today. India has become one of the major global hubs for IT outsourcing, along with a huge influx of foreign companies either setting operations in India, or acquiring Indian IT companies. As he bids goodbye to Infosys today, he would be proud of what he has achieved. The company that started with a small capital of INR 10000 is today one of the largest IT companies in India. And everyday is a new milestone to be achieved, new successes to achieve and new courses to be defined. Most of the senior management across industries looks up to this man for his strong principlies, a clean management style and a never-say-die attitude. Truly, he has made the world “FLAT” and put India on the global software map.
Hats off to this great personality and here is wishing him the very best in his future endeavours.
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