Infosys Announces Leadership Succession

BANGALORE, India, April 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors met today and announced the following changes to the Board.

- Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy appointed Chairman Emeritus.

- Mr. K. V. Kamath named as the Chairman of the Board.

- Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan named as the Co-Chairman of the Board.

- Mr. S. D. Shibulal named as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

The appointments are effective from August 21, 2011. The decision of the Board is based on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Jeffrey S. Lehman, Chairman of the Nominations Committee said,

"This is a great moment for Infosys. These three leaders meld an extraordinary range of talents and experiences with a united commitment to drive the company to unprecedented levels of accomplishment while remaining true to its historic values. We could not be in better hands."

Chairman of the Board

Kundapur Vaman Kamath is currently an Independent Director on the Board of Infosys. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank Limited, India's second largest bank. Kamath has a degree in mechanical engineering as well as one in management studies from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 2008. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2008; was named 'Businessman of the Year' by Forbes Asia and The Economic Times 'Business Leader of the Year' in 2007; Business Standard's 'Banker of the Year' and CNBC-TV18's 'Outstanding Business Leader of the Year' in 2006; Business India's 'Businessman of the Year' in 2005; and CNBC's 'Asian Business Leader of the Year' in 2001. He has been given an honorary Ph.D. by the Banaras Hindu University.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. K. V. Kamath said, "Infosys is a company which has been built by its founders, led by the visionary leader Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, who as its Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director and then as its Chairman and Chief Mentor, provided Infosys its thought leadership over the years. This is an innovation-led company, with a core of outstanding professionals that has always set the highest standards and has built a unique culture. I feel greatly honoured to have been asked to be the Chairman of Infosys by the Board of Directors and accept this responsibility with a deep sense of humility."

Co-Chairman of the Board

Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan (Kris), a co-founder of the Company, has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director since June 22, 2007. Kris is recognized as a global thought leader. He was selected to be on Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers compiled by Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, in association with the IE Business School, Madrid, and the London Business School's Management Innovation Lab. Kris has received many honors including Padma Bhushan. Kris holds a Master's degree in Physics and Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan said, "I am happy and honoured that the Board has requested me to take on the responsibility of Executive Co-Chairman. I look forward to working with Vaman and Shibu, post August 20th, when Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy retires from the Board as Chairman and Chief Mentor. Our goal is to strengthen and grow Infosys further while maintaining the trust and confidence reposed in us by all the stakeholders - clients, employees, investors and shareholders, vendor-partners, the government of the land, and society."

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Mr. S. D. Shibulal is one of the co-founders and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Infosys Technologies Limited. He has over three decades of leadership experience in IT services industry. He has played a pivotal role in the Infosys journey and a seminal role in the evolution of the Global Delivery Model which is now the de-facto industry standard for delivery of outsourced IT services. Mr. S. D. Shibulal has a Master's degree in Physics from the University of Kerala and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Boston.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. S. D. Shibulal said, "I am honored to be appointed the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of this great organization. In the last 30 years, Infosys has established itself as an industry leader. Under Kris's leadership, Infosys has scaled greater heights and has become a respected global brand. Vaman is a well-known and highly-respected corporate leader. As we look ahead, we will ensure that this leadership transition is smooth as all other transitions have been in the past. We are also making other organizational changes to strengthen our market position and ability to serve our clients better."

Chairman Emeritus

The Board of Directors unanimously invited Mr. N R Narayana Murthy to be the Chairman Emeritus effective August 21, 2011. This is in recognition of his founding the company, mentoring his co-founders, and nurturing the organization over the last thirty years.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy said, "I am thankful to the Nominations Committee for doing an admirable job of succession planning and continuing the Infosys tradition of a sound succession strategy. I am glad they have found a perfect team to strengthen customer, investor and employee connect on the one-hand, and world-class board governance on the other hand. Vaman is, in my opinion, one of the finest corporate leaders of modern India. Kris has demonstrated high-class performance during testing times for the industry and the company. I congratulate Shibu on being appointed the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director. I have no doubt he will do an excellent job like Kris did. Vaman, Kris and Shibu will make an ideal team. I am grateful to the Board for appointing me as the Chairman Emeritus and providing me an opportunity to add value to the Board, the Executive Management and every Infoscion if asked by them."

About Infosys Technologies Limited

Many of the world's most successful organizations rely on the 1,30,820 people of Infosys to deliver measurable business value. Infosys provides business consulting, technology, engineering and outsourcing services to help clients in over 30 countries build tomorrow's enterprise.

For more information about Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), visit http://www.infosys.com

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 and on Form 6-K for the quarters ended June 30, 2010, September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2010.These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company.

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SOURCE Infosys Technologies Ltd