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Vishal's moved on, but we shall overcome is Infosys interim CEO's message to employees

In an email to his staff, UB Pravin Rao made it clear at the outset that Infosys will “continue to execute on the strategy we have laid out for ourselves.”

August 22, 2017 / 08:50 PM IST
Pravin Rao_infosys

Pravin Rao_infosys

After Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka’s resignation last week, Infosys' interim CEO UB Pravin Rao sent an email to employees, setting the agenda for the next few months and seeking to ensure their morale remains high amid the internal turmoil at the software major.

Rao made it clear at the outset that Infosys will “continue to execute on the strategy we have laid out for ourselves,” even as he said the company will miss Sikka, and “wish[es] him only the very best for the future”.

Sikka, the first non-co-founder CEO of Infosys, stepped down on Friday citing continuous distractions and increasingly personal attacks on him. In a strongly worded email to the stock exchanges, the Infosys Board blamed Murthy’s “continuous assault” as the primary reason for him putting down his papers.

Over the past few months, Infosys has been embroiled in controversy after founder NR Narayana Murthy raised issues of corporate governance at the company and questioned some of the decisions that had been taken by Sikka.

Rao’s latest letter seemed like an attempt to assuage employees, asking them to stay their ground and not get affected by the ongoing issues between the Board and management.

“Strengthened by movements like Zero Distance, you have begun an exciting journey of innovation relying on your creative confidence. You must continue the incredible work,” Rao said in the email.

Zero Distance is Sikka’s pet initiative, which asked all employees to create innovative solutions in each project.

While asking employees to continue giving their best, Rao also acknowledged that rough times were not new for Infoscians, as the employees are called.

“This won’t always be easy in the days ahead. Not with the intense attention on us. This can be unsettling. But only if we let it. And that we must not. If you think about it, this is not the first time Infosys has been up against a tough challenge. Rough economic conditions, near-impossible projects, leadership exits, public debates about our future, we have seen it all. And there hasn’t been a single occasion- not even a single one- from which we did not emerge stronger, wiser and most importantly still together as one team Infosys,” he said.

Here is the full text of the letter:

Dear Infoscian,

On Friday we all heard from Vishal about his decision to move on from Infosys. While we respect his decision, we will miss him and wish him only the very best for the future. He will stay on board as Executive Vice Chairman, till March 2018, to help me make a smooth transition. Despite these changes, Infosys will stay on course.

We will continue to execute on the strategy that we have laid out for ourselves. We have already seen how our new services are gaining traction. And how our embrace of automation is helping us become more productive in the work that we do, and how it is creating more and more opportunity for us to focus our energies toward innovation- both for ourselves and our clients.

In fact, you have achieved so much over the past several quarters. Strengthened by movements like Zero Distance, you have begun an exciting journey of innovation relying on your creative confidence. You must continue the incredible work. We must all continue the work we do to create the value out clients are counting on us to deliver. It is the huge responsibility we carry. That’s why there can be no disruptions to the work we set out to do every day.  As has always been, the foundation for this will continue to be our culture, our values—especially our ability to learn, and do more—much more to create real value – than simply execute the jobs we are handed.

This won’t always be easy in the days ahead. Not with the intense attention on us. This can be unsettling. But only if we let it. And that we must not. If you think about it, this is not the first time Infosys has been up against a tough challenge. Rough economic conditions, near-impossible projects, leadership exits, public debates about our future, we have seen it all. And there hasn’t been a single occasion- not even a single one- from which we did not emerge stronger, wiser and most importantly still together as one team Infosys.

We can do it again and we will. Helping each other, when it is needed, to stay focused on what matters- our commitments, our clients, our vision of who we really are.

Having learned so much, having done so much, having come so far, we can clearly see the road ahead lies long and winding but leads to greatness. I want for us to stay the course. I know you want it too, for yourself and for your Infosys. That’s why I know I can rely on your continued support. And you can in turn, rely on your leadership, and on my personal support.

I will share as much as I can in the days to follow. Days we’ll soon look back to as a time when all of Infosys came together in unwavering faith, resolute perseverance, and unflinching focus.

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to write in to me and post questions of thoughts you may have. Let’s stay in touch.

first published: Aug 22, 2017 08:38 pm

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