N. R. Narayana Murthy and Infosys is a household name now after making Bangalore an IT hub. Earlier, the Garden city was well-known as being a pensioner’s paradise, but today Bangalore and Pune both have emerged as IT destinations.
Born into a Kannada Madhwa Brahmin family in Mysore, Karnataka, on August 20, 1946, Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy popularly known as N R Narayana Murthy built his Infosys dream in 1981 along with six other engineers. Narayana Murthy despite clearing the IIT in those days and securing a scholarship could not pursue his engineering study at Kanpur as his father a school teacher said that he could not fund the initial fees and asked him to pursue his dream in a local college.
He then graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore in 1967 and received the master’s degree from IIT Kanpur in 1969. After graduating, Murthy received many job offers, but Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s Professor, Krishnayya, convinced him to join the prestigious IIM as chief systems programmer at a salary of Rs 800 per month. Prof Krishnayya dangled a carrot stating that the institute would soon be installing a modern mini-computer on time sharing basis. A luxury those days and provided at two other business schools. Recalling his days at IIM, Ahmedabad, Murthy said that he learnt a lot there and at times worked as long as 20 hours a day.
During his stint at IIM, Murthy designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). He later shifted to Pune and took up employment with Patni Computer Systems. At Pune, he met his wife Sudha (Kulkarni), who was employed at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd. (Presently Tata Motors) as engineer.
His wife funded an initial capital of Rs 10,000 to set up Infosys. For 21 long years, Murthy served as the CEO of Infosys and in 2002, co-founder Nandan Nilekani succeeded him. Murthy is known for designing and successful implementation of the Global Delivery Model which is the basis of the success in IT services outsourcing from the country. Currently, Chairman Emeritus, Murthy is also the man behind the company’s listing on the Indian stock exchange and NASDAQ in 1999.
Murthy, after relinquishing his duties on August 20, said that the task before Infosys was to understand the aspirations of local talent, attracting them and retaining the best. Infosys has to create a common, universal value system around, honesty, decency and good work ethics, Murthy said, adding that the emphasis should be on building commonalities, where people from different regions would work together productively.
According to Murthy, the biggest challenge the country would face would be the availability of talent. He said that to ease this, the government had taken some initiatives like allowing the entry of foreign universities. Murthy fears that if remedial measures are not taken, the country may not reach its economic potential.
Recalling his childhood days, Murthy said that during those days teachers were their role models, who taught them to be inquisitive and fluent. He said that his father always talked about to put public good before private, while his mother talked about sacrifice and truth. Apart from basic rules, parents didn’t advice on careers, he said.
The Infosys man said that his stay in Paris changed his outlook towards life. During his stay, he observed that it was essential to create wealth first before it could be distributed. The government should create an environment for people to create wealth, he said.
Murthy thanks his father for teaching him the mantra of working in a team. As a child, his father asked him to listen to the symphony aired by AIR, which spelt out the fact that over 100 people, each of them a maestro had come together as a team to play under a conductor on a given script.
The former Chairman and CEO said that at one time his colleagues had asked him to think about the buy out offers, but he resisted them and said he would only buy out. With this every one returned to work and never raised the question of buy out. Murthy says leadership is about making things happen that are impossible. He said that by raising people’s confidence you help them to achieve tremendous things.
On advice to next generation of entrepreneurs, Murthy said the mantra was: ‘Early to bed and early to rise and work like hell.’ He said that entrepreneurs must stitch together a team that has exclusive and collective skills to work out a value system needed to withstand the hard pressures ahead.
Murthy whose net worth is $2 billion believes that the power of money is the power to give. Time magazine once said: “Humble and self-effacing, Murthy is known to fly economy class and lives in a modest home in Bangalore - proof, say his fans, that you can combine business success with Gandhian humility.”
Speaking at IIT-Gandhinagar in July this year, Murthy exhorted students to become strategic learners and restore the earlier glory of IITs. He said that no substantial world-class researches were coming out of IITs and IIMs in the last 10 years. He said that China produced 2,652 PhDs in computer science in 2004, while India just produced 24. Enlightening on the differences between the education system in the country and abroad, Murthy said that in places like US, the focus was on problem solving and relating theories to them.
Murthy has his hands full. He has been appointed chairman of the Public Health Foundation and adviser to entrepreneurs in Gujarat. On the other hand, the West Bengal government has sought his advice on IT, while Jammu and Kashmir has sought his help in youth employment. He is also open to any offers from the government. Mr Murthy there is no doubt, we need your guidance.
He has written one book titled ‘A Better India, A Better World’ in 2009 that was brought out by Penguin Books.
Awards & Honours
· 1996: JRD Corporate Leadership Award, All India Management Association (AIMA)
· 1998: Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
· 1999: BusinessWeek named Murthy as one of the nine entrepreneurs of the year and featured him in the BusinessWeek’s ‘The Stars of Asia’ (for three consecutive years from 1998 - 2000)
· 2000: Padma Shri bestowed by the Government of India
· 2001: He was named by TIME / CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives (Group selected for leaving a mark in creating new industries and reorganizing markets)
· 2001: Nikkei Asia Prize, Nikkei Inc
· 2001: Max Schmidheiny Liberty Prize, Switzerland
· 2001: Wharton Business School Dean’s Medal, University of Pennsylvania
· 2003: World Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst and Young
· 2003: Indo-French Forum Medal, Indo-French Forum
· 2003: Asia’s Businessmen of the Year, Fortune magazine
· 2005: In December 2005, in a global study conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit, Narayana Murthy was voted as the Seventh most admired CEO/Chairman in the world
· 2007: IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
· 2007: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Government of United Kingdom
· 2008: Officer of the Legion of Honour, Government of France
· 2008: Padma Vibhushan bestowed by the Govt of India
· 2010: Foreign Associate Member United States, National Academy of Engineering
· 2010: IEEE Honorary Membership, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Born into a Kannada Madhwa Brahmin family in Mysore, Karnataka, on August 20, 1946, Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy popularly known as N R Narayana Murthy built his Infosys dream in 1981 along with six other engineers. Narayana Murthy despite clearing the IIT in those days and securing a scholarship could not pursue his engineering study at Kanpur as his father a school teacher said that he could not fund the initial fees and asked him to pursue his dream in a local college.
He then graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore in 1967 and received the master’s degree from IIT Kanpur in 1969. After graduating, Murthy received many job offers, but Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s Professor, Krishnayya, convinced him to join the prestigious IIM as chief systems programmer at a salary of Rs 800 per month. Prof Krishnayya dangled a carrot stating that the institute would soon be installing a modern mini-computer on time sharing basis. A luxury those days and provided at two other business schools. Recalling his days at IIM, Ahmedabad, Murthy said that he learnt a lot there and at times worked as long as 20 hours a day.
During his stint at IIM, Murthy designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). He later shifted to Pune and took up employment with Patni Computer Systems. At Pune, he met his wife Sudha (Kulkarni), who was employed at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd. (Presently Tata Motors) as engineer.
His wife funded an initial capital of Rs 10,000 to set up Infosys. For 21 long years, Murthy served as the CEO of Infosys and in 2002, co-founder Nandan Nilekani succeeded him. Murthy is known for designing and successful implementation of the Global Delivery Model which is the basis of the success in IT services outsourcing from the country. Currently, Chairman Emeritus, Murthy is also the man behind the company’s listing on the Indian stock exchange and NASDAQ in 1999.
Murthy, after relinquishing his duties on August 20, said that the task before Infosys was to understand the aspirations of local talent, attracting them and retaining the best. Infosys has to create a common, universal value system around, honesty, decency and good work ethics, Murthy said, adding that the emphasis should be on building commonalities, where people from different regions would work together productively.
According to Murthy, the biggest challenge the country would face would be the availability of talent. He said that to ease this, the government had taken some initiatives like allowing the entry of foreign universities. Murthy fears that if remedial measures are not taken, the country may not reach its economic potential.
Recalling his childhood days, Murthy said that during those days teachers were their role models, who taught them to be inquisitive and fluent. He said that his father always talked about to put public good before private, while his mother talked about sacrifice and truth. Apart from basic rules, parents didn’t advice on careers, he said.
The Infosys man said that his stay in Paris changed his outlook towards life. During his stay, he observed that it was essential to create wealth first before it could be distributed. The government should create an environment for people to create wealth, he said.
Murthy thanks his father for teaching him the mantra of working in a team. As a child, his father asked him to listen to the symphony aired by AIR, which spelt out the fact that over 100 people, each of them a maestro had come together as a team to play under a conductor on a given script.
The former Chairman and CEO said that at one time his colleagues had asked him to think about the buy out offers, but he resisted them and said he would only buy out. With this every one returned to work and never raised the question of buy out. Murthy says leadership is about making things happen that are impossible. He said that by raising people’s confidence you help them to achieve tremendous things.
On advice to next generation of entrepreneurs, Murthy said the mantra was: ‘Early to bed and early to rise and work like hell.’ He said that entrepreneurs must stitch together a team that has exclusive and collective skills to work out a value system needed to withstand the hard pressures ahead.
Murthy whose net worth is $2 billion believes that the power of money is the power to give. Time magazine once said: “Humble and self-effacing, Murthy is known to fly economy class and lives in a modest home in Bangalore - proof, say his fans, that you can combine business success with Gandhian humility.”
Speaking at IIT-Gandhinagar in July this year, Murthy exhorted students to become strategic learners and restore the earlier glory of IITs. He said that no substantial world-class researches were coming out of IITs and IIMs in the last 10 years. He said that China produced 2,652 PhDs in computer science in 2004, while India just produced 24. Enlightening on the differences between the education system in the country and abroad, Murthy said that in places like US, the focus was on problem solving and relating theories to them.
Murthy has his hands full. He has been appointed chairman of the Public Health Foundation and adviser to entrepreneurs in Gujarat. On the other hand, the West Bengal government has sought his advice on IT, while Jammu and Kashmir has sought his help in youth employment. He is also open to any offers from the government. Mr Murthy there is no doubt, we need your guidance.
He has written one book titled ‘A Better India, A Better World’ in 2009 that was brought out by Penguin Books.
Awards & Honours
· 1996: JRD Corporate Leadership Award, All India Management Association (AIMA)
· 1998: Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
· 1999: BusinessWeek named Murthy as one of the nine entrepreneurs of the year and featured him in the BusinessWeek’s ‘The Stars of Asia’ (for three consecutive years from 1998 - 2000)
· 2000: Padma Shri bestowed by the Government of India
· 2001: He was named by TIME / CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives (Group selected for leaving a mark in creating new industries and reorganizing markets)
· 2001: Nikkei Asia Prize, Nikkei Inc
· 2001: Max Schmidheiny Liberty Prize, Switzerland
· 2001: Wharton Business School Dean’s Medal, University of Pennsylvania
· 2003: World Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst and Young
· 2003: Indo-French Forum Medal, Indo-French Forum
· 2003: Asia’s Businessmen of the Year, Fortune magazine
· 2005: In December 2005, in a global study conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit, Narayana Murthy was voted as the Seventh most admired CEO/Chairman in the world
· 2007: IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
· 2007: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Government of United Kingdom
· 2008: Officer of the Legion of Honour, Government of France
· 2008: Padma Vibhushan bestowed by the Govt of India
· 2010: Foreign Associate Member United States, National Academy of Engineering
· 2010: IEEE Honorary Membership, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
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