Management Toolkit

Managing outsourcing with a clear conscience

Winston Chai CNETAsia

Published: 13 Dec 2004 16:50 GMT

Business leaders and politicians are often asked a cliché question: "What keeps you awake at night?"

For Nandan M Nilekani, president and chief executive officer of Indian IT services behemoth Infosys, the key to sound slumber lies simply in having a clear conscience. "The softest pillow is a clear conscience," he said.

For a man who looks to Nelson Mandela as a role model, it is little wonder the 49-year old executive seeks to exemplify the former South African's president's virtues of uprightness and perseverance.

Against a global corporate backdrop marred by high-profile financial irregularities from the likes of Enron, Tyco and Computer Associates, Nilekani comes across as refreshingly forthright and honest, attributes which he in turn instils into the running of his business. Transparency is his operating mantra, best summed up in one of Infosys' corporate governance philosophies: "When in doubt, disclose."

A software engineer by training, Nilekani and seven other partners founded Infosys in 1981. He took the reins as the firms' head honcho in March 2002, a time still reeling from the backlash of the 11 September attacks.

A year later, SARS pounded Asian economies, while Infosys' bread and butter business of IT outsourcing continues to stir up politically charged debates in the West.

In the face of such adversities, Nilekani steered Infosys to its first billion-dollar revenue milestone in 2003.

With economic fortunes rebounding globally, the company is expecting rosier fortunes this year. He recently spoke to ZDNet UK sister site CNETAsia about his management philosophy, motivations and Infosys' growing pains.