Essays

Niagara Ramarao Narayana Murthy better known as N.R. Narayana Murthy is the Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited. He is credited for making India one of the known names in the IT world. He was born on August 20, 1946 in Mysore, Karnataka, India. He obtained his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (B.E.) from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore in 1967 and his Master of Technology (M.Tech) from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in 1969.

His first position was at IIM Ahmadabad as chief systems programmer where he worked on a time-sharing system and designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). In the early seventies, Narayana Murthy took up employment with SESA in Paris. He worked with a team to design a real time operating system for handling air cargo for Charles de Gaulle airport. He came back to India after three years and took up a job with Patni Computer Systems in Pune. While at Pune, he met his wife Sudha Murthy who at the time was an engineer working at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd. (Telco, now known as Tata Motors). In 1981, with an investment of Rs.10, 000 from his wife, he founded Infosys with six other software professionals which later became one of the leading software companies.

In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in U.S.A. With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly. In 1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centers across cities in India and its first office was set up in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK in 1996. In March 1999, Infosys became the first India-registered company to be listed on an American stock exchange (NASDAQ: INFY). Today, Infosys has employee strength of over one lakh and is acknowledged by customers, employees, investors and the general public as a highly respected, dynamic and innovative company.

Murthy served as the founder CEO of Infosys for 21 years, and was succeeded by co-founder Nandan Nilekani in March 2002. At Infosys he articulated, designed and implemented the Global Delivery Model which has become the Foundation for the huge success in IT services outsourcing from India. After stepping down as CEO in 2002, he has broadened his scope of activities to social services as well as promoting India globally. He retired from Ins executive position at Infosys on 20 August 2006. However, he continues as the Non-Executive Chairman of the board.

Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Murthy too has grown in stature. He has received several honours and awards. He has been awarded the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award for 1996-97. He has been conferred with the distinguished Alumni Award for the year r''^ by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He was chosen as the Business India's 'Businessman of the Year 1999', the Indian. Corporate world's most coveted award. He has been named by Busines week as one of the Top Entrepreneurs of the Year 1999. He has been featured in the Asia-week Power 50 (June 2000) - a list of Asia's Most 1'nwerful People. Business Week chose him as one of 'The Stars of Asia’ for three successive years, in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

He was chosen for the ET 'Businessperson of the Year Award' in 2000-2001 and 'The Max Schmidheiny Award' in 2001. In 2001, he Was named by time/CNN as one of the 25 most influential global Executives.. He was chosen as the 'World Entrepreneur of the Year' by Ernst and Young in 2003. The same year he became the first recipient Of the Indo-French Forum Medal. In 2005, The Economist ranked him eighth on the list of the 15 most admired global leaders. He also topped the Economic Times Corporate Dossier list of India's most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years—2004 and 2005. He was awarded the IEEE Ernst Weber Leadership Medal in 2007. In 2010 the board of   directors of the IEEE elected him as an honorary fellow of the IEEE. In 2010, in what is considered to be the highest professional distinction for an engineer, the American National Academy of Engineers (NAE) elected Murthy as a foreign member.

Narayana Murthy holds several coveted positions. He was the president of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) from 1992 to 1994. He is a member of the National Information Technology Task Force of India, and also the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. He is a member of the Asia Society's International Council and Board of Councilors of the University Of Southern California School Of Engineering. He is a director on the board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and is also on the Wharton Business School's Asian Executive Board. He is the Co- chairman of the Indo-British Partnership.

Murthy serves on the boards of various companies and universities .moss the world. He serves as an independent director on the board of (In- DBS Bank of Singapore and as ;i member of the Board of NDTV,  India. He also serves as an independent director on the board of the European FMCG giant Unilever. He is an IT advisor to several Asian   countries. He is also an Independent Director on the board of HSBC.  He also serves on the boards of the Ford Foundation and UN Foundation.

He is the chairman of the governing body of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, and was the Chairman of the Governing Body of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of INSEAD, Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton University Board of Trustees, Business Advisory Council of Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, Singapore Management University Board of Trustees and the Board of Advisors for the William F. Achtmeyer Center for Global Leadership at the Tuck School of Business.

Murthy also sits on the Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), a graduate school of business located in the Philippines and is also the Chairman of the Board of Members of School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) located in Bangkok, Thailand He is (he chairman of the, Asia Business Council, An organization headquartered in Hong Kong. He is also a member of the Advisory Hoards and Councils of various well-known universities such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Corporate Governance initiative at the Harvard Business School, Yale University and the University of Tokyo's President's Council.

Personally, murthy who holds over 26 honorary doctorates from universities across the world is known for his simplicity and helping mentality. He founded the Infosys Foundation, a social welfare trust for helping the needy; he has a liking for Western Classical music and has liberal ideas. Murthy's ability to put forth his viewpoints and all his other qualities make him a unique personality. He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact Dial honesty, transparency, and moral integrity are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Infosys at the age of 60. In 2009, Ins lectures delivered around the world have been published as a book A Better India: A Better World. One of Murthy's favourite quotes is "Performance leads to recognition. Recognition brings respect. Respect enhances power. Humility and grace in one's moments of power enhances dignity of an organization".