Narayana Murthy is the non-executive chairman and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited. He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact that honesty, transparency, and moral integrity are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate governance and morality, when he stepped down as the executive chairman of Infosys at the age of 60.

Born on August 20, 1946, N.R. Narayana Murthy is a B.E. Electricals from University of Mysore (1967) and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur (1969). Narayan Murthy began his career with Patni Computer Systems in Pune. In 1981, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys with six other software professionals. In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in USA.

With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly. In 1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centres across cities in India and in 1996, it set up its first office in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ.

Now Infosys has a turnover of more than $ 2.5 billion and has employee strength of over 50,000. Infosys was ranked number I in the "Best Employers in India survey” conducted by Hewitt and in the Business World's survey of "India's most respected companies."

Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Moorthy too has grown in stature. He has received many honours and awards. In June 2000, Asiaweek magazine featured him in a list of Asia's 50 most powerful people.

In 2001, Narayana Murthy was named by TIME/CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient of the Indo-French Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the World Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Earnest and Young. The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired global leaders (2005) and Narayan Murthy also topped the Economic Times Corporate Dossier list of India's most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years - 2004 and 2005. In June 2000, 'Asiaweek magazine featured Narayana Murthy in a list of ‘Asia's 50 Most Powerful People’. In 2001, he was named by TIME/CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient of the Indo-French Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the ‘World Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003’ by Earnest and Young. The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired global leaders (2005).

Abhishek Pathak
MCA I