Ritu Singh - NR Narayana Murthy - A Biography

If any one person can be called the father of Indias booming IT sector, its N.R. Narayana Murthy. Murthy proved that India could compete with the world by taking on the software development work that had long been the province of the West. As one of six co-founders of Infosys and the CEO for 21 years, Murthy helped spark the outsourcing revolution that has brought billions of dollars in wealth into the Indian economy and transformed his country into the worlds back office.

Time, August 15, 2007

NR Narayana Murthys greatest contribution to Indian business is not the creation of Infosys, one of Indias most successful companies. It is the creation of a possibility that people from humble backgrounds can create multi-billion dollar companies only on the basis of a vision, passion and hard work.

The Economic Times, October 27, 2007

His simplicity and plain-spokenness are refreshing in this era of image managers and spin doctors.

Business Today, February 17, 2013

Murthy knows how to combine Western-style management and accounting with the skills and drive of low-cost, highly educated Indian professionals.

Business Week, June 28, 1998

ISBN: 978-93-5064-129-3

Edition: 2013

Rajpal & Sons

N R Narayana Murthy: A Biography

by Ritu Singh

RAJPAL & SONS

1590, Madarsa Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006

Phone: 011-23869812, 23865483, Fax: 011-23867791

website: www.rajpalpublishing.com

e-mail:

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

T he man in the sober grey suit and contrasting tie stepped back a little to get a better view of the crowdhis young ones, as he thought of them. The black hair with silver streaks was neatly combed back. Through the simple, rather studious-looking black frame of his spectacles he threw a satisfied glance at the eager gathering.

Together they had come a long way and there was still much ground to be covered. But today, the 25th anniversary of the birth of their dream, was a time for celebration. Amidst the flash of cameras, vigorous handshakes and some brotherly bear hugs, a young man approached him. From the press, unmistakably mobile to the ear, camera around the neck, the barely visible microphone attached to his shirt.

Congratulations, sir! Truly a grand day in the history of your organization.

Thank you, young man.

But sir, if I may ask why are we celebrating in Mysore of all places? I mean, wouldnt Bangalore have been ideal a bigger city, more people

There are many reasons for holding this event here. One, we wanted it to be amongst youngsters. The largest number of young people in Infosys are our trainees, who are here in Mysore. There are 4,000 of them here today, so thats the first reason. Second, we were conducting our yearly financial analysts meet too and we had not shown them Mysore before. Third, we thought it was a good idea to give Mysore some global exposure. There were so many TV channels here yesterday; almost all the US news channels covered the NASDAQ ceremony. The name of Mysore was mentioned. Never before has it happened in the history of this citys 1,000, I dont know, 2,000 years. So we felt its a good thing to do this here.

I see. Although, sir, I wouldnt say that Mysore has been ignored. I mean, ever since the Global Education Centre came up here that itself is like a city within a city. Why has it been made so super self-sufficient doesnt that isolate its people from the rest of Mysore? continued the journalist.

No, not really, because there are 2,000 Infoscians who work on this campus but who live in the city. The only people who live on the campus are our trainees, and they need to work very hard. They have many assignments, starting from 7.30 am to 8.30 or 9 pm. They dont have time to even go for a haircut outside. Remember the city is far-off. They dont have time to wash their clothes, so we provide them with a laundry service. They dont have time to go outside to shop for toothpaste and other such basic toiletries, so we have provided them a supermarket. They have no time to go into the city for recreation or sports, so we have provided them all the facilities right here. On the other hand, they are free to go to the city every weekend and they indeed do so.

The conversation moved on to other areas, about the man, his vision and his views. Narayana Murthy was happy to express his ideas about the challenges to Infosys in the future. Scalability is the first one, how to keep our value system intact, how to ensure that we retain quality and productivity as the projects and clients increase. Another is to continue to attract, train, empower and retain the best and the brightest while the organization becomes larger. Also, we must continue to have acceptable margins because with growth comes a tendency to spend more without adequate returns the margin slows down. We must become more and more multicultural to leverage high quality in our markets.

We are No. 1 in India the most respected, best managed company, the best employer with the best in corporate governance. Our challenge is to ensure that we are among the top five in every market we operate America, Europe, and Japan. How to retain the nimbleness and camaraderie, the soul of a small organization in the body of a large monolithic one that in essence is the biggest challenge.

Even as he spoke about the future, his mind drifted back in time

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Martin Luther King Jr

I n those days Mysore was a sleepy little town. Although a fairly popular tourist destination in Karnataka, it did not hold the attention of the world. Much less known, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was that a young son of its soil was quietly maturing into a giant who would rule the globe in a unique manner.

It was the month of June in the year 1962. A serious-faced sixteen-year-old stood on the platform of Mysore railway station looking sadly after the train chugging off to Chennai (then Madras). A bunch of hands could be seen waving from one of the windows until they were lost in the smoke and distance.

They were gone. His companions through thick and thin, his boyhood friends filled with hope, expectation, excitement and confidence off on a journey to a new beginning. Shedding their childhood, they were to enter the larger arena of life through the gateway of a university education.

Sighing, the boy turned to leave; then changed his mind. He sat down on the iron bench on the platform, shutting his eyes to let pictures of the past flash through his mind. His mind went back to their school days, when he and his friends would study in the shade of a stone mandap near the Chamunda Hills. They would discuss the whole world, or whatever they knew of it then, arguing over issues till dusk. Of course there was serious study too preparing for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) or some other competitive examination, admission to which was looked upon as the ultimate achievement. If you managed IIT, your future was made.

Preparation for such examinations in those days was quite different from what it is now. There were hardly any air-conditioned state-of-the-art coaching centres where professionals with experience had mounds of test papers and books to cater to your every need and question. The boy and his friends had no special coaching or books, just their intellect and each others company and help, if required. And help was one thing he was always ready with. While his friends struggled with complex questions, he would solve problems of maths and physics in the blink of an eye. Shy at all other times, the subject of science would always light up his eyes.