In what has come as a surprise to industry watchers, Nandan Nilekani faced stiff opposition from public shareholders in his reappointment as director of Infosys.
In what has come as a surprise to industry watchers, Nandan Nilekani faced stiff opposition from public shareholders in his reappointment as director of Infosys.
Conversations Mint had with some shareholders point to the dissent likely being a reaction to the Infosys chairman’s absence from some board meetings, his profile of a non-independent director, and the absence of a tenure as director.
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Conversations Mint had with some shareholders point to the dissent likely being a reaction to the Infosys chairman’s absence from some board meetings, his profile of a non-independent director, and the absence of a tenure as director.
According to an exchange filing by Infosys, 35% of retail shareholders and 15% of public institutions opposed Nilekani’s reappointment at the Bengaluru-based company’s 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) on 26 June.
In contrast, his earlier reappointments in 2019 and 2022 faced less than 1% opposition from public institutions and non-institutions.
“The opposition to his re-appointment is surprising,” said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services.
However, Nilekani’s candidature sailed through despite the dissent as he secured 86% of the overall votes. The co-founder of Infosys does not have a fixed tenure at the company, and seeks reappointment every two-odd years.
“The reason he still secured a majority is because his attendance in board meetings has been more than 75% in the last three years, which is what all proxy advisory firms and investors demand,” added Subramanian. “However, we have made a note of his absence.”
Retail shareholders and non-institutions own almost a fourth of Infosys’s total shares; public institutions own 62%, while promoters own 13%.
An email sent to Infosys seeking responses went unanswered.
Why the opposition?
The resistance to Nilekani’s candidature at Infosys comes after 40% of large shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd rejected the appointment of Saudi Arabian businessman Yasir Al-Rumayyan as an independent director as he skipped about 25% of the company’s board meetings.
Nilekani, too, missed one-third of the company’s board meetings in the 12 months through March 2024. The company’s board met six times (excluding the AGM) and Nilekani attended…
Read More: Shareholder discontent rises with Nilekani’s reappointment as Infosys director