Infosys is a hugely successful start up. An inspiration for an entire generation, now passing out of India’s universities.
- One more case of an iconic founder returning, but not making much of an impact in the second innings. But, NRN steps down with humility and hands over reins to a professional, hand-picked. They could have done better succession planning? An area where Microsoft perhaps fumbled, but Apple did not?!
- Sikka means ‘money’. A self-confessed ‘fake punjabi’, brought up in Gujarat and successful at Silicon Valley. But what Infy will look for is proverbial ‘Midas touch’.
- What Infy needs is Sikka the executor. (The Hindu)
- Interesting to note one of his fav books is Hermann Hesse’s, ‘Siddhartha’.
- Asked about Sikka’s appointment, Chairman of the Nominations & Governance Committee KV Kamath said: “At this point in time, what is happening all over the world is transformation. We basically had a bias for the transformational leader.” (Economic Times)
While the media was busy with the ‘returning’ of a son-of-soil, another transformational leader was in India too.
- But he was here to say ‘good bye’, after turning around another iconic brand.
- Alan Mulally came from a totally different background to lead Ford out of bankruptcy. His ‘One Ford’ strategy saw Ford ‘selling off luxury brands, Volvo (to Chinese), JLR (to Tata) and Aston Martin, and transforming the company into a globally integrated orgn’.
- A 53 yrs young, Mark Fields, succeeds him. Sikka is younger at 47 yrs!
- Mulally will continue to inspire us, just as NRN & KVK.
- The future belongs to Transformational Leaders. Leaders have a choice now. To Be or Not To be… a Transformational Leader.