I never aspired to be CEO of Infosys: Mohandas Pai

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TV Mohandas Pai, senior board member of IT bellwether Infosys Technologies, and a well-known face in the industry, announced his resignation from the board and company today. It left many in the industry shocked as they believe it to be a major setback after Nandan Nikelani's resignation.
Talking to the media after his resignation, Mohandas Pai said, "I have been thinking about it for over a year. I discussed this with Murthy nine months ago and finally decided to take a call."
Pai denied any strife with the management and added, "Now is the time for us to pave way for the younger generation. I never aspired to be the CEO of the company. I have seen the company grow from day one. Today when I look back, I feel proud to have been part of this journey but now I will be part of this company's growth as a share holder." And with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, he said he "might even ask some questions".
On Pai's resignation N R Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor said, "Mohan has been an early adopter and a keen anchor builder of Infosys. It is difficult to imagine Infosys without Mohan's passion, commitment, joie-de-vivre and intellect. We all know that he is taking this painful decision, since he has much bigger projects in the horizon- that of nation building. The board and every Infoscion thank Mohandas Pai for his wonderful contribution and wish him great success in his future endeavours."
The founder and the company's chairman Narayan Murthy is himself set to retire in August 2011.
With the company going through major restructuring and leadership challenges, Pai's resignation couldn't have come at a worse time.  Talking about the company's future leadership plans, Pai said, "The board will decide in its meeting on April 30. We are moving ahead of time and the company is in a transformation phase. The older generation is getting ready to guide the new team in every possible way. So it is time for others to join the board and ensure that Infosys is in the top 3 companies."
On his own future plans, though, he didn't reveal much. But he plans to enter public life by contributing something to the education sector.
Pai joined Infosys in 1994 and has served as a  member of the board since May 2000. He was the chief financial officer from 1994 to 2006. In 2006, he voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to lead efforts in the areas of human resources and education and research.

As the CFO, he played a strategic role in transforming Infosys into one of the world's most respected and widely known software services companies. He formulated the country's first publicly articulated financial policy for the company. He played a key role in branding the company among the investor community and enhancing transparency and disclosure levels. The Infosys Annual Report, under his supervision, has won the top awards consistently from the Institute of Chartered Accountants and from the South Asian Federation of Accountants. Pai has also been part of various committees such as the Kelkar committee for reforming direct taxes and is currently on the SEBI

Infosys saw another resignation from K Dinesh, one of its founding members.

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