Vishal Sikka Resigns as Infosys CEO, Pravin Rao fills the vacancy as an Interim

During Dr. Sikka’s tenure as CEO, Infosys revenues have grown from $2.13B in Q1FY15 to $2.65B this past Q1, with strong margin

 Vishal Sikka has resigned as chief executive officer citing the reasons that he Could not defend himself against ‘unrelenting attacks’ anymore.

Pravin Rao, who is serving as chief operating officer, will be interim CEO whileSikka will hold the office of executive vice chairman until a permanent replacement is hired, according to Bangalore-based Infosys statement.

As per the latest updates, after Sikka’s resignation from the post, Infosys shares plunged by nearly 8 percent in early trade.

Despite the strong criticism over ‘poor corporate governance’ by Murthy and some other founders, Infosys did well under Sikka’s Stint.

Infosys in a statement said,“The Board understands and acknowledges Dr. Sikka’s reasons for resignation, and regrets his decision. In particular, the Board is profoundly distressed by the unfounded personal attacks on the members of our management team that were made in the anonymous letters and have surfaced in recent months. As the Board has previously stated, a series of careful investigations found no merit to the unsubstantiated and anonymous allegations that had been asserted.  The Board denounces the critics who have amplified and sought to further promote demonstrably false allegations which have harmed employee morale and contributed to the loss of the Company’s valued CEO.”

On his resignation DrSikka said, “I started my journey as the CEO of this iconic Company with a mission to transform it on the basis of software, especially [artificial intelligence], and innovation, enabled by education. Three years later, I feel proud of our progress and achievements, from profitable revenue growth to rapid purposeful adoption of software, new services and grassroots innovation, to the extraordinary recognition from our clients worldwide. I am deeply grateful to our Board for providing me with strong support and guidance, and especially wish to thank our Chairman [Seshasayee] for his extraordinary and thoughtful stewardship, and look forward to working together on a smooth transition.  Congratulations to my friend and partner Pravin on his appointment, and heartfelt thanks to all Infoscions for their warmth, amazing support and the sparks of their imagination.”