Sikka: Committed to steering the company from troubled times to new scale and new economics.

IANS/Bangalore

Vishal Sikka, new chief executive of India’s second largest global software major Infosys, has urged Infoscions to get better at everything they were doing without disrupting the iconic company’s foundation.

“The task before us is to lay out the way forward. We must get better at everything that we do without disrupting the foundation that has got us where we are,” 47-year-old Sikka told the 1.6-lakh techies in his first mail on assuming the top job.

The $8.3bn IT bellwether’s investors unanimously approved his appointment as the first non-founder chief executive and as a whole-time director on the board at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Wednesday. “I am really looking forward to serving as the CEO of Infosys, one of the most iconic companies we know. To lead Infosys is nothing less than a privilege and an opportunity of a lifetime,” Sikka said.

Noting that the transition from being led by its illustrious co-founders to a non-founder chief executive would sweep across every company in the industry, Sikka said it was a great opportunity to lead Infosys, as software reshaped the world around.

“We must quickly augment the task by going after software opportunities with clients to create next-generation, intelligent solutions.”

Outlining his agenda for steering the bellwether from troubled times, including its less than industry growth rate, Sikka said the company would work with the start-up community and reinforce its focus on intellectual property, products and platforms to drive new scale and new economics.

“Our founders built a company like none other in the world and we are going to stay true to their values and vision. We are going to continue to foster their great ideas and ideals, be obsessive about our performance so we can delight our clients and be really proud of what we do together.”

Stressing on improving every employee’s ability to learn and identify opportunities of the future to build a sustainable business, Sikka said the most efficient way to march ahead was to collectively chart out the best course and move as a one cohesive unit, learning and teaching one another.

“I will personally drive this agenda. With the generous support I have from the board, the executive team and you, this journey is going to be awesome for us all.”

Sikka will draw an annual salary of $5.08mn (Rs305mn) with $2mn (Rs120mn) as stock options (equity shares).

Prior to joining Infosys, Sikka was executive board member of the German software product firm SAP AG, leading its products and driving innovation globally for over a decade.

Sikka is credited with accelerating SAP’s development processes, transforming its innovation culture and leading several product co-creation initiatives with clients.  He is also the creator of the concept of timeless software, which represents the renewal of products without disruption to customer environments. A doctorate in computer science from Stanford University in the US, Sikka did extensive research in artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, programming languages and models and information management at Xerox Palo Alto Labs and as founder of two start-ups.