Kris Gopalakrishnan next CEO of Infosys

Bagalore, Jun 25: The shareholders of the country's second-largest IT/ITeS exporter-Infosys Technologies unanimously elected Mr "Kris" Gopalakrishnan as the company's next CEO and managing director at the 26th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Bangalore on Friday.

His appointment is for a period of five years running from June 22, 2007. Till his elevation as the CEO & MD, Mr S Gopalakrishnan was the deputy MD and COO of the $3billion company.

The shareholders also approved of Mr Nandan Nilekani as the co-chairman of the company. Addressing shareholders, Mr Murthy, the company's chairman and chief mentor said: "Nandan will be the co-chairman and assist "Kris" focus on client relationships, be a brand ambassador and contribute to Infosys' strategy. These transitions reinforce the efficacy of our long-term succession planning."

Mr Gopalakrishnan answering shareholder queries on the rising rupee said: "In the short-term we have hedged our position. It would be difficult to take a medium to long-term call. However Infosys should benefit from economies of scale, higher employee productivity and shift in geographical mix."

It would be pertinent to mention here that contribution from Europe has risen to 26 pc in FY'07, showing the geographical mix of revenues. Shareholders also approved of the annual accounts for FY'07 and the final dividend of 130 pc(Rs 6.5 on the Rs 5 face value share).

The Infosys AGM which was held for the first time on a weekday (it is typically held on a Saturday) also saw shareholders vote for hiking the payment by way of commission to the non-executive directors. Although the Companies Act, 1956 allows companies to pay up to 1 pc, Infosys was paying less than this level.

Responding to a question on salary levels from the media, Mr N R Narayanamurthy said, "We certainly don't pay high to our directors and don't rank among the top 10 Indian corporates. For this(question) forums like CII would be in better position to reply."

OneIndia News

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