The sky is the limit for passionate achievers. Today, Indian IT industry has reached a new phase and indeed has undergone transformations since 1980. One of the significant accomplishments had been the establishment of Infosys and amazing energy invested by the co-founder Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy for staggering success of the firm. On the 71st birth anniversary, we uncover few interesting yet less known facts about Narayana Murthy as the leader of Infosys Limited.
Date of Birth: 20 August 1946
Net Worth: $1.85 Billion
- Born into a middle-class family in Sidlaghatta, Karnataka, after his schooling, he tried getting into Indian Institute of Technology, unfortunately, he could not attend the entrance exam. Later, he earned his graduation from National Institute of Engineering in 1967.
- He started his career as Chief Systems Programmer at IIM Ahmedabad and designed basic interpreter for ECIL. He expressed his discontent on the contribution of IISc to the society in making it a better place from the past 60-plus years in one of the recent IISc Convocation ceremonies recently.
- Spending a thoughtful 72 hours in the jail of Bulgaria, a self-proclaimed socialist deduced that creation of jobs and entrepreneurship is the means to alleviate poverty. Abiding by the line of thought, he found an IT software consulting firm Softronics in Pune in 1976. Though the first venture of N.R.Narayana Murthy ended its operations after one and a half year, he describes it to be the learning experience.
- After the failure of the first company, he joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune. The desire of establishing a tech empire cherished and as a result, Infosys was born in 1981, with an initial capital of Rs. 10,000 catered by his wife Sudha Murthy. Despite being a co-founder, he chose to remain as the employee #4 at Infosys, conceding to the promise made to his former employer Ashok Patni, he worked on two projects and completed them. Following that he joined Infosys on 18 March 1982 though it was incorporated on 2 July 1981. Narayana Murthy reminds the event and told “I must have served the longest notice period in the history of corporate India.”
- Apparently, Infosys was on the verge of shutting down its operations in 1989, though Murthy did not intend to sell the company, he soon approached the co-founders to buy the shares of the company. All of them stood together to hold the firm and today it is been the mammoth organization.
- When asked about the punctuality of Narayan Murthy, Mohandas Pai (former member of the board of directors and CFO of Infosys) said “We had a device which rang a bell and we would start immediately. If you didn’t come on time, you missed out, that’s all. It’s just a culture of starting on time. He (Murthy) respects your time”.
- By bringing the IT sector into India, he created a lot of job opportunities of the one he had dreamt in the past. The man prefers flying economy class and sticks to the simple lifestyle till date.
- Apart from spearheading Infosys as CEO from 1981 to 2002 and as Chairman from 2002 to 2011, he remains to be Chairman Emeritus. He was appointed as Additional Director and Executive Chairman on 1 June 2013 for the period of five years. The co-founder also sits on the corporate board of HSBC as an independent director and serves several other boards including Asia Pacific Board of British Telecommunication.
- The futurist co-chaired the World Economic Forum in Davos accompanying Bill Gates co-founder, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation USA, Charles Prince, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup, USA, Lubna S.Olayan, Chief Executive Officer, Olayan Financing Company, Saudi Arabia, Daniel Vasella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Novartis Switzerland, and John A. Thain Chief Executive Officer, New York Stock Exchange, USA. “Fighting Poverty and Growing Markets,” was the event of Davos.
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning”
The above lines from the pen of the entrepreneur depict his perseverance, hunger for achievement, and zeal for building a better society. The inspirational leader has carved a niche for him in the Indian IT industry. On his birth anniversary, we wish him more and more successful tech years to come.
The article is a part of the B’day Series where we celebrate the birthday of renowned personalities from across Industries, very frequently. The series includes Entrepreneurs, C-level Executives, innovators or a renewed leaders who moved the industry with his exponential skill set and vision. The intent is to highlight the person’s achievements and touch base the little-known but interesting, part of his life. You can see the list of all earlier celebrated tech personalities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayer, Sean Parker, Andy Rubin, Julian Assange, by following this link or subscribe to your daily newsletter.
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