Vishal Sikka calls Panaya probe 'nonsensical detour'; clarifies he won't join HP

Mumbai: Amid reports of him joining Hewlett Packard after his sudden resignation from Infosys on last Friday, Vishal Sikka quashed all rumours and said “someone is trying to put him in a box”.

Speaking to CNBC TV 18, he said there was no truth to the rumours that he will be joining Hewlett Packard as CTO.

Sikka resigned from the Indian IT giant after serving over three years as a CEO and MD, citing “malicious” personal attacks. Addressing the same, Sikka said in the interview: “Resigned because I felt I couldn't do the job anymore”.

Sikka further said that he had made no specific comments referring to founder Narayana Murthy. The Infosys board had come out in defense of Sikka after his exit and had held Murthy responsible for his “continous assault” against the ex-CEO.

Although he was supposed to continue as executive vice-chairman, he quit on Thursday because he felt it was in the best interests of all concerned. Welcoming Nilekani’s return, he said that with his resignation Nilekani could have a free hand and it also meant that the succession process would be complete. “Nilekani is an extraordinary and an iconic man,” he added.

When asked about the much-talked about Panaya investigation, which was one of the issues his stint at the company was criticised for, Sikka said he was open to anyone reopening the investigation. Calling it a “nonsensical detour”, he said “If someone decides it is in the good interest of the company to investigate a fourth or fifth time, they can..it has already taken a toll on the company”.

Sikka joined Infosys in in April, 2014. When asked about what lessons he gathered from his three-year term, he quoted Steve Jobs saying, “You can always connect the dots looking backwards”.

“Listen more to your advisors,” he quipped.

He also hinted that he may be open to talks of reconciliation with Murthy, although, he quickly added that he needs time to think things through.

Sikka, who holds a PhD in artificial intelligence from Stanford University, said that although he wants to take time off to think about what to do next, he is open to being an entrepreneur. He further added that there is a need to develop the culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and AI.

“This idea of transforming into innovators, entrepreneurs, to exercise our imagination applies to not only Infosys but also, the IT services industry and to our humanity,” he said.