Narayana Murthy is an Indian entrepreneur, widely recognized as the “Father of the Indian IT Sector.
There are ups and downs in life. The difficulties that we encounter on their Journey of Becoming have the power to either make or break us. Never forget that this planet needs to be gifted with something bigger within you, regardless of who you believe yourself to be. Despite what your current status may indicate, you are never useless. So never allow the perceptions of the world deter you from reaching your final destination in life. In this maiden episode of Clinch Tech Success Stories, we would like to delve into the struggles, strength and success story of an Indian IT giant in the entrepreneurial world.
Often called the “father of the Indian IT sector,” Narayana Murthy co-founded Infosys in 1981 using $250 in startup funds that he borrowed from his wife, Sudha Murthy. Under Murthy’s direction, Infosys rose to prominence as a global symbol of Indian IT services. Murthy’s focus on client-centricity, employee empowerment, and corporate governance enabled Infosys to establish industry standards. Currently, Infosys is a global company with over 250,000 employees and revenues of over $14 billion.
Early Life
Narayana Murthy was born on 20 August 1946 in Sidlaghatta, a city in India’s south-western state of Karnataka into a Kannada- speaking middle-class Brahmin family. After completing his school education, he went to the National Institute of Engineering and graduated in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. In 1969 he received his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. In 2007, Murthy received an honorary degree from Lancaster University.
Personal Life ; Wife and Kids.
Sudha, Narayana Murthy’s wife, is a philanthropist, author, and educator who has chaired the Infosys Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Together, they are parents to a daughter named Akshata and a son named Rohan.
His Career Life.
Narayana Murthy began his career at IIM Ahmedabad as a research associate under a faculty member before rising to the position of principal systems programmer. There, he built and implemented a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited and worked on the country’s first time-sharing computer system. He founded a business called Softronics. After a year and a half, that business collapsed, so he went to Pune to work for Patni Computer Systems.
Narayana Murthy says that going from being a “confused leftist/communist” to a “compassionate capitalist” during the communist era in 1974 after being detained and ejected without cause at a border village close to the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border changed him. His wife, Sudha Murty, contributed Rs 10,000 as an early cash commitment when he and six other software experts launched Infosys in 1981. From 1981 until 2002, Murthy led Infosys as its CEO for 21 years. Co-founder Nandan Nilekani took over as CEO.
He developed, devised, and implemented a worldwide delivery strategy for outsourcing IT services from India while he was employed at Infosys. From 2002 until 2006; he served as the board’s chairman. He then took on the role of chief mentor. In August 2011, he retired from the company, taking the title chairman emeritus.
Narayana Murthy has served as a director on the boards of DBS Bank, Unilever, ICICI, and NDTV. He is currently an independent director on the corporate board of HSBC. In addition, he serves as a trustee of the Infosys Prize, a trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, a trustee of the Rhodes Trust, and a member of the advisory boards and councils of numerous academic and charitable organizations, such as Cornell University, INSEAD, ESSEC, Ford Foundation, the UN Foundation, the Indo-British Partnership, and the Asian Institute of Management.
In addition, he chairs the Public Health Foundation of India’s governing board. He is a member of British Telecommunications’ Asia Pacific advisory board.
Murthy rejoined Infosys in June 2013 as executive chairman and director. He resigned as executive chairman in June 2014 and served as non-executive chairman until October, when he was appointed chairman emeritus. In addition, he is a member of IESE’s International Advisory Board (IAB), which advises the national law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas on strategic, policy, and governance matters. In 2010, Murthy invested in SKS Microfinance alongside venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, and in 2011, he made a contentious remark regarding the abilities of IIT students.
In 2016, Murthy discussed “How To Be a Better Manager” in an interview with Harvard Business Review Ascend.
Murthy voiced worries about purported corporate governance shortcomings at Infosys in 2017, however the business later refuted these allegations.
When Murthy proposed raising working hours to 70 hours in 2025 in an attempt to boost productivity in India, he was met with criticism.
In Conclusion
Despite of his humble beginnings, the financial struggle he had to face; he never allowed it to deter or discourage him from pursuing his set goals. Let this success story inspire you to be a goal getter. Keep pushing till you arrive at your final destination. It’s Possible!
