KV Kamath: From a banker to Infosys leader

Kundapur Vaman Kamath, the non-executive Chairman of Infosys finally took over the reins of the company from founder N R Narayana Murthy.

The new chairman assumes his role at perhaps one of the most challenging times for both the company and the industry.

Both the US and Europe are yet to come out of the recession and clients are clamouring for more innovation and value-addition without substantial price increase.

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As stated by Murthy himself, Kamath brings with him a certain 'positive aggression' and his considerable skills in mentoring, something that the company needs as it defends its position against the dynamic Cognizant and TCS.

Many within the company and among the analyst community believe that Kamath, one of the most influential bankers in India, is the right person to take Infosys to the next level of growth.

The mammoth $6 billion company with an employee base of over 1,33,560 has been a tad too conservative, shying from making any inorganic expansion.

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Kamath has said that all that Infosys needs is gentle handholding. He has already hinted about a 'Blue Ocean' strategy that will make the company focus on newer verticals like healthcare and government, and to expand to emerging markets like India and China.

Kamath, however, acknowledges that filling in the shoes of Murthy is not possible.

"One can never step into Murthy's shoes. I am just stepping into a position called Chair of the board. Only he could have created such an enterprise by investing his intellect.

"If you leave that aside, the task isn't that complicated.

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"As a non-executive chair, my job is to look after governance practices -- making sure there is a strong leadership for the future and that strategic plans outlined by the management are executed," he said.

Though he doesn't have any formal background in information technology, the 6-foot-2 inch banker will still be in familiar territory at Infosys, a company he joined as an independent director in 2009.

Previously, Kamath was single-handedly responsible for ushering in a technological revolution in banking.

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Consider this: At a time when the entire banking industry had 100 ATMs, Kamath set a target of 1,000 ATMs in the first year itself.

Kamath thinks Infosys doesn't need to do much to its current gameplan.

"A company which is growing at 25 per cent CAGR and is in the safe hands of two strong executives like Kris and Shibu does not need more aggression.

"My role is guidance and practising good governance," Kamath, a keen Formula 1 racing fan, said in his first comments after being named non-executive chairman. That's almost a mirror image of his current role at ICICI Bank.

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Kamath has a simple mantra on how to increase efficiency: the 80:20 rule, which essentially means that you focus 80 per cent of your time and energy on the 20 per cent of your work that is really important.

Another favourite management mantra has been what Kamath would often call the 90-day rule, a phrase he picked up from a dotcom seminar in New York.

The start-ups were taking products from concept to market in 90 days because if they didn't, somebody else would.

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For example, when ICICI Ltd planned an ADR issue in 1999, the merchant bankers said it would take at least a year before ICICI could float the issue as it had to pass the US GAAP.

But Kamath gave them a 90-day deadline.

He remembers how his team along with other external agencies worked round-the-clock in three shifts and managed to list within 74 days. Six months later, when ICICI Bank went in for an ADR, the new deadline was 74 days.