Narayana Murthy is?among the first names?that come to mind when we think of?Infosys?co-founders' list, right? It's even possible that many people aren't even aware of the other key people who co-founded the Indian IT giant four decades ago.?
If you are among them, then read on as?we unfold the unheard stories of Infosys' other six co-founders?alongside?Narayana Murthy.
Indian IT giant?Infosys?was founded in 1981 by seven engineers in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was registered as Infosys Consultants Private Limited on July 2, 1981. Then, in 1983, it relocated to Bangalore, Karnataka.
The company changed its name to Infosys Technologies Private Limited in April 1992 and then to Infosys Technologies Limited when it became a public limited company in June 1992. It was finally renamed Infosys Limited in June 2011.
Also Read:?Infosys' Narayana Murthy Shares Why He Once Turned Down Air India Job Offer
Narayana Murthy, Nandan M. Nilekani, S. Gopalakrishnan, S.D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh, N.S. Raghavan, and Ashok Arora are the seven co-founders of Infosys.?Infosys was?started with an initial capital of Rs 10,000 and was named Infosys Consultants. Narayana Murthy had borrowed that sum from his wife, Sudha Murthy.
At?Infosys' 40-year anniversary celebration last year, Narayana Murthy shared anecdotes about the company's other co-founders that left an ever-lasting impression of them and depicted their passion.?
Narayan Murthy recalled that he had met?Nandan Nilekani?when he was working as the head of software at Patni Computer Systems.?Nilekani walked into Murthy¡¯s room on February 18, 1979¡ªwhich Murthy remembers vividly¡ªto ask for a job. When asked why he wanted a job in February, Nilekani said he wanted it because he had ¡°free time¡± until September before he got into a business school in the US.?
Although Nilekani was only looking at a short stint, Murthy gave him a?learnability test?because he believed that ¡°It is better to have an intelligent man with you. No matter how short that period, that intelligence will add tremendous value.¡±?
Nilekani was the only candidate to get 50 out of 50 marks on the test and also went on to pass the next level of the test, an IQ test called Matrix Rotation that was formed by Murthy, which he completed in a minute and a half.?
Kris Gopalakrishnan made an impression on Murthy when he was working on a project with him at Patni Computer Systems. Murthy said that Gopalakrishnan, who joined with two others, was the quiet one in the room and never asked questions but perfectly executed the tasks.
¡°A 23-year-old kid was being assisted by an IIT graduate and was a project leader,¡± Murthy proudly said, as per the HinduBusinessLine report.?
Murthy¡¯s ever-lasting impression of Shibulal is also from the time when he was working at Patni Computer Systems. Murthy had instructed Shibulal not to leave the office until he finished a project, when he was in a bad mood and completely forgot about it. But two days later, when he was swinging by the office at night, he found out that Shibulal hadn¡¯t gone back home and had been relentlessly working.
Murthy recalls that when asked why, Shibulal said, ¡°You asked me not to go home until I finished this task, therefore I haven¡¯t. The only thing is without your permission I have used the office bathroom to take a shower.¡±?
K Dinesh, who used to work at a new government electric factory, in Bengaluru, a rather successful program, travelled to Bombay after he saw an advertisement about PCS. He went through the regular drills of Murthy¡¯s tests and asked when he could know if he was selected or not.?
Murthy called him in the same evening but kept wondering why a man would leave a safe public sector job and shift to Bombay to live in cramped spaces. Murthy recalls that when he asked him why, Dinesh had said, ¡°Sir, I want to learn new technology, I want to learn UI/UX.¡±
In Infosys' early days, the front room of Murthy's home was the company's first office, although the registered office of Infosys was N.S. Raghavan's home.?Raghavan is also the first employee of Infosys.?He had served as the Member of the Board from 1981 ¨C 2000. He served in various management positions and retired as the Deputy Managing Director in 2000.? ?
Ashok Arora is also among the seven co-founders of Infosys. He served as a member of the board of Infosys from 1986 ¨C 1989. Recalling Arora's exit, Murthy said,?"In 1989, Ashok Arora (the 7th founder), my colleague, wanted to leave us. He was an extraordinary analyst, designer and programmer, but somehow did not perform well as a manager." "When I asked Nandan (Nilekani) to take over banking, Ashok did not like it and chose to leave. Ashok was the best designer we had, and I was sad to see him go", Murthy added.??
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