Infosys vs founders: Full text of Murthy's letter on COO Rao's pay hike

I recruited Pravin in 1985 and nurtured him throughout my stay at Infosys since then, says Murthy

Infosys founders, led by N R Narayana Murthy, on Sunday criticised the proposed salary hike of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Pravin Rao, deepening the rift between them and the board of the country’s second-largest software exporter on governance issues.

Here is the full text of Murthy's letter explaining his stand on COO Pravin Rao's pay hike

Dear Folks,

I have lots of affection for Pravin. Let me state you the facts.

I recruited Pravin in 1985 and had nurtured him throughout my stay at Infosys since then.

He had been sidelined. He was not even a member of the Executive Council at Infosys in 2013 when I came back. Kris, Shibu snd I encouraged him, elevated him to the board, and made him the COO when we recruited Vishal as the CEO. So, this abstention has nothing to do with Pravin.

Those of us who have always stood for fairness in compensation and practised it, right from the day Infosys was founded, will have to demonstrate it when needed. This is a time when it is needed. Nothing more and nothing less.

I believe in striving towards reducing differences in compensation and equity in a corporation. You may not know that my Infosys salary at the time of the founding of Infosys was just 10% of my salary in my previous job. I ensured that my younger, co-founder colleagues got 20% higher salary over their salaries in their previous job even though I was 7 levels above them in my previous job and was 11 years older than them. I gave them huge equity compensation the like of which has never been replicated in this world. So, this abstention comes from somebody who has walked the talk.

I have always felt that every senior management person of an Indian corporation has to show self restraint in his or her compensation and perquisites. He or she has to fight for maintaining a reasonable ratio between the lowest salary and the highest salary in a corporation in a poor country like India. The board has to create a climate of opinion for such a fairness by their actions.

This is necessary if we have to make compassionate capitalism acceptable to a majority of Indians who are poor. Without compassionate capitalism, this country cannot create jobs and solve the problem of poverty. Experts tell me that capitalism may come to an end in the not-so-distant future if the current corporate leaders do not heed this advice in India...(READ MORE_)