"I want Infosys to be a place where people of different genders, nationalities, races and religious beliefs work together in an environment of intense competition but utmost harmony, courtesy and dignity to add more and more value to our customers day after day." As said by N.R.Narayana Murthy. He is known to lead an unpretentious lifestyle in his modest residence in Bangalore along with wife Sudha Murthy and has a reputation for being a calm, self-effacing, soft-spoken person and caring father like figure for the employees of Infosys, shunning pricey suits, and avoiding a high-flying lifestyle. He has become the most admired business leader among the business schools in India by his `simple living high thinking` phenomenon.
This Indian industrialist, software engineer was born on 20th August 1946 into a Kannadiga Deshatha Brahmin family in Mysore, India. Graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysorein 1967, he received his master degree from IIT Kanpur in 1963. He joined IIM Ahmedabad as chief systems programmer after his Masters degree. At IIM he worked on a time sharing system and designed and implemented a basic inetrpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited. Then he has worked for Patni Computer Systems in Pune. At Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co.Ltd he met his wife Sudha Murthy. Mr. Murthy is the brother-in-law of serial entrepreneur Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande and the uncle of former NASSCOM Chairman and Mphasis chief Jerry Rao. Murthy couple moved to Mumbai.
In 1981 with six other software professionals he founded `Infosys`. He has been served as CEO of Infosys for twenty years. Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder of Infosys succeeded Murthy in 2002. he is a member of the Board of Directors of INSEAD, Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania`s Wharton School, Cornell University Board of Trustees, Singapore Management University Board of Trustees and the Board of Advisors for the William F. Achtmeyer Center for Global Leadership at the Tuck School of Business. He is the chairman of the governing body of both the International Institute of Information Technology - Bangalore, and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Mr. Murthy likewise sits on the Board of Governors of the renowned "Harvard Business School of the East" --- the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), a premier graduate school of business located in the Philippines; one of only two business schools in Asia to be internationally recognized with both AACSB and EQUIS accreditations.
The recipient of numerous awards and honors Narayana murthy in 2000 was awarded a civilian award by the Government of India, the `Padma Shri`. The first recipient of the Indo-French Forum Medal in 2003 by the Indo-French Forum. The award was given in recognition of his role in promoting Indo-French ties. He was voted the World Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Ernst & Young. He was one of the two people named as Asia`s Businessmen of the Year for 2003 by Fortune magazine. In 2001, he was named by TIME / CNN as one of the twenty-five, most influential global executives, a group selected for their lasting influence in creating new industries and reshaping markets. The Max Schmidheiny Liberty 2001 prize was given to Murthy in recognition of his promotion of individual responsibility and liberty. Leading magazine `Business Week` named him as one of the nine entrepreneurs of the year and also featured him in Business Week`s `The Stars of Aia` for three successive years 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 1998, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, one of the premier institutes of higher learning in India and his former institute, conferred on him the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 1996-97, he was awarded the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award.
In a global study conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit in December 2005, Narayana Murthy was voted as the seventh most amired CEO/Chaiman in the world with 14 other renowned name like Bill gates, Steve Jobs and Warrwn Buffett. In May 2006, Narayana Murthy has, for the fifth year running, emerged the most admired business leader of India in a study conducted by Brand-comm, a leading Brand Consulting, Advertising and PR firm. `The Economist`, an English language weekly news and international affairs publication, ranked him 8th among the top 15 most admired global leaders (2005). He was ranked 28th among the world`s most-respected business leaders by the Financial Times (2005). He topped the Economic Times Corporate Dossier list of India`s most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years - 2004 and 2005.
Today, customers, employees, investors and the general public as a highly respected, dynamic and innovative company acknowledge Infosys. In March 1999, Infosys Technologies became the first India-registered company to be listed on an American stock exchange. He says perhaps we are the only nation in the world were people fight to be called backward rather than forward. Therefore we should thank him for bringing India on the world`s IT map and providing jobs to thousands. To him "Performance leads to recognition. Recognition brings respect. Respect enhances power. Humility and grace in one`s moments of power enhances dignity of an organisation,"
