Top shot quits Infosys

Bengaluru: While Narayana Murthy’s comeback cheered the markets, investors and stakeholders alike, there has been a spate of top management exits as speculation runs rife that Murthy’s son may be given a larger role in the company. Ashok Vemuri, member of the Board, director and head of Americas, and global head of manufacturing and engineering services has resigned after a 14-year stint with Infosys.His resignation comes a few days after Infosys vice-president and financial services head for the Americas, Sudhir Chaturvedi decided to quit. Earlier this year, in July, Infy’s Global Sales Head, Basab Pradhan announced his resignation. A statement from Infosys says Ashok has played a significant role in building the company’s market leadership in the financial services and manufacturing verticals and in North America.“We would like to thank him for his significant contributions to Infosys in different leadership roles during his career and wish him the very best. The transition plan is in place. Sanjay Jalona, currently the regional head for manufacturing in North America, will take over as the global head of manufacturing, Infosys.” Vemuri joined Infosys on October 1, 1999, and was drawing a salary of Rs 4.91 crore as of March 31, 2013, which is almost on par with B.G. Srinivas, (member of the Board, director and head of Europe and global head of financial services and insurance) at Rs 4.93 crore.Why would Mr Vemuri, considered as one of the favourites along with B.G. Srinivas and V. Balakrishnan (head of Infosys BPO, finance and India business unit) to succeed Mr Shibulal as CEO when he retires in 2015, quit all of a sudden “Vemuri is a solid, stable person who has been with Infosys since 1999 and will not quit without good reason. Since he is a part of the inner group of top management at Infosys, he must be privy to some information that he is no longer in the running for CEO’s position and hence, the decision to quit. Another reason is that he one of the contenders for the CEO’s position at iGATE” said an analyst who tracks Infosys closely. “This exit is certainly not a good sign for Infosys — to lose Vemuri who has a client-facing role, at a time when they are trying to get back on growth track,” said Sudin Apte, principal analyst and CEO, Off-shore Insights Research.