NANDAN NILEKANI

'Nandan Nilekani' is an Indian software entrepreneur. He is currently the Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, of which he is also a co-founder, along with N. R. Narayana Murthy and others.

Contents

Early life

Career

Honours and awards

Other activities

Personal life

References

External links

Early life

Nilekani was born as the second and last son to Durga and Mohan Rao Nilekani, a manager in Minerva Mills. He spent his first 12 years in Bangalore.
His father's job was transferable, and Nilekani moved in with his uncle's family in Dharwad for his studies. He eventually studied at Bishop Cotton Boys School, Bangalore. He attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay from 1973 onwards.

Career

In 1978, Nilekani joined Patni Computer Systems where his colleague was N. R. Narayana Murthy.
Three years later (1981), seven enthusiasts (including Nilekani) decided to start their own outfit, InfoSys (later renamed as Infosys) with Murthy in the lead.
Nilekani became the Chief Executive Officer of Infosys in March 2002, taking over from Murthy. He functioned as the CEO and MD of the company from March 2002 to April 2007.
In April 2007, he relinquished his position as CEO and MD to his colleague Kris Gopalakrishnan and became the Co-Chairman of Infosys. He has, since, mentioned that he will still function in an executive capacity within the company by "focussing on key client relationships, being a brand ambassador for the company, and working on transformational initiatives". ^[1]
Nilekani has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Honours and awards

Nilekani has been named one of ''Asia's Power 25 – The Most Powerful People in Business in Asia'' by Fortune magazine, 2004.
In 2004, Nilekani was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award from the Government of India. In January 2006, he became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to join 20 global leaders on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Foundation Board. He is regarded by TIME magazine as one of the ''100 Most Influential People in the World'' in its May 2006 issue .
He has also been feted by Forbes Asia as ''Business Leader of the Year'' for 2006.
In May 2006, in a study conducted by Brand-comm, a brand consulting, advertising and PR firm, Mr. Nilekani emerged as one among the top ten most admired business leaders of India.

Other activities

Nilekani is a co-founder of India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). He is also the chairperson of Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF).

Personal life

Nilekani speaks Konkani at home. He is married to Rohini Nilekani (an English-language writer and novelist) and they have two children, a daughter Janhavi and a son Nihar.

References

1. Moneycontrol.com interview with Nandan Nilekani after Infosys' FY 2007 financial results

External links

★ Nandan Nilekani - Infosys Management Profiles