Infosys Names Vishal Sikka as New CEO; Current Executive Chairman and Main Founder N.R. Narayana Murthy Will Step Down on June 14
BANGALORE, India--Infosys Ltd. appointed its first outsider to head the company on Thursday, hoping new blood will help in its struggle to stay competitive, as it tries to evolve from a low-cost outsourcing company into a global technology brand.</br></br>India's second-largest software exporter said Vishal Sikka, a veteran of German software company SAP AG, will take over as managing director and chief executive.</br></br>While India- and U.S.-listed Infosys led the Indian outsourcing revolution for decades, it has failed to adjust to the radical changes in the information-technology-services industry in recent years, analysts say.</br></br>Rising wages of programmers in India, stiffer competition and slowing demand has cut into India's low-cost advantage and forced Infosys to try to shift away from labor-intensive outsourcing work.</br></br>The company is hoping that Mr. Sikka, educated at Stanford University and known for leading and accelerating the launch of sophisticated software platforms at SAP, can make Infosys an industry trendsetter again.