Infosys is on headhunting for a CEO

Bangalore: Infosys chief executive officer S D Shibhulal will step down from the company by January 9 next year, sending India’s second-biggest software exporter on a hunt for his successor.

Shibulal, one of the seven Infosys founders, wants to retire as CEO of the company on or before January 9, 2015, or when his successor is ready to assume office, whichever is earlier, a company statement said. Infosys said it has started search for his successor and has hired Egon Zehnder, an executive search firm, to assist the nominations committee of the board of directors in identifying external candidates. This would be the first time Infosys is likely to have a CEO who isn't a founder of the company. Shibulal "has expressed his desire to retire as the CEO and Managing Director of the company and as a member of the board," the statement said.

Infosys will also look for internal candidates to fill the position, it said. After returning as Chairman in June last year, N R Narayana Murthy has shuffled the top management to revive earnings after some of the top executives quit. The new appointee will also be tasked with turning the company around. Once a poster boy for the USD 108-billion Indian IT-BPO sector, Infosys has been battling top level exits, which analysts have raised concerns about.

Over the last two years, Infosys has seen nine top level exits including leaders who were tipped to be in fray for the top job. Former company's Americas head Ashok Vemuri quit to become CEO at iGate, while CFO V Balakrishnan joined political party AAP. Other exits include global sales head Basab Pradhan, Head of Utilities and Resources for North America Stephen Pratt, Head of BPO sales Australia Kartik Jayaraman and BPO Head Latin America Humberto Andrade. While some attributed the exits to the return of N R Narayana Murthy at the helm of affairs last year, the company has maintained that it remains unperturbed by these exits.