K V Kamath is Infosys chairman; Shibulal to be CEO

In a major top-level management restructuring, India's second largest software firm Infosys on Saturday named veteran banker K V Kamath as the new chairman to succeed founder N R Narayana Murthy, who retires in August.

The over $6-billion Infosys Technologies has also appointed current CEO S Gopalakrishnan as the executive co-chairman and promoted COO S D Shibulal as CEO and MD.

Murthy, who turns 65 in August, would become Chairman Emeritus.

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These appointments, effective August 21, 2011 were approved at the company's board meeting held in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Kamath, 63, is currently an independent director on the board of Infosys. He is the non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank, the country's largest private lender.

"I am very, very pleased with (all) these appointments," Murthy told reporters after the board meeting.

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"Kamath, Kris and Shibu will make an ideal team. I am grateful to the company for appointing me as Chairman Emeritus and providing me an opportunity to add value to the board," he said.

Infosys would also be appointing three new directors before the annual general meeting in June.

The major board recast comes at a time when Infosys is facing stiff competitive environment and tough business conditions.

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The names of Kamath, Gopalakrishnan and Shibulal were recommended by the three-member nominations committee, chaired by Jeffrey S Lehman.

"These three leaders meld an extraordinary range of talents and experiences with a united commitment to drive the company. We could not be in better hands," Lehman said.

A well-known personality in the corporate circles, Kamath was the key driving force in the success of ICICI Bank.

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"I feel greatly honoured to have been asked to be the chairman of Infosys by the board of directors and accept this responsibility with a deep sense of humility," Kamath said.

One of the co-founders, Kris Gopalakrishnan has been Infosys CEO since June 2007.

Shibulal, another co-founder, is currently the chief operating officer (COO).

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"We will ensure that this leadership transition is smooth... We are also making other organisational changes to strengthen our market position and ability to serve our clients better," Shibulal said.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Infosys has 64 offices and 63 development centres across the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia and Japan, among other countries.

The company and its subsidiaries had a workforce of 1,30,820 employees as of March 31, 2011.