Bangalore: Kris Gopalakrishnan, the last of the seven Infosys Co founders retired yesterday, marking the end of an era. He received a slightly damp farewell as the heavens opened up unexpectedly. Kris, as he was fondly known was the executive Vice Chairman of the company he co founded.
It has been a long and successful ride for a young, wide-eyed boy from IIT Madras; one that has taken him from a bright career in software engineering to becoming the co-founder of one of the most successful IT companies this country has ever seen.
The farewell was held at Building no. 49 at Infosys Bangalore Campus and employees made a bee line for a seat in the hall.
Close to 1,200 employees jostled for space in the 1,000-seater auditorium to catch a glimpse and listen to what Kris, as he is fondly called, had to say on his last day as the chairman of the company.
Dressed in a blue Infosys t-shirt, he seemed a little overwhelmed standing at the lectern on stage, while the applause continued. He said, “There is an African proverb that goes: if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. I have spent 33 years in this company and I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has been there with me in this journey.
“One day many years ago, I was cycling in the campus at IITM while I was doing my MSc in Physics. The carrier on my bicycle had a few books. Suddenly I heard a voice calling out to me from behind. It turned out to belong to my professor HN Mahabala who inquired about the computer science books I was carrying. I would like to thank him for encouraging me to take up computer science.
“Next, after completing the course, Patni Computer Systems gave me my first job and I would like to thank them for bringing all the co-founders of Infosys together. Over the years I have played many roles in this organization and as a team we have experienced a lot of success and some failures. We did some incredible work and built a world-class company. Being on the board is not an easy thing as there were many firsts and challenges for us, but thank you everyone for the support, advice and help.”
His speech was followed by a standing ovation as visibly shaken employees looked genuinely overwhelmed. One employee said, “What else do you expect? He was the last of the founding pillars to exit the company and there was a lot that we learnt from his ideologies and principles. His professionalism will continue to inspire us.”
What were his future plans, he was asked. “Well, I do not have political ambitions. I don’t think I am cut out for that role. I will be focusing all my energies in education and research like the Center for Brain Research at IISc. Start-up villages are also on the cards for me,” he said.
