Honorary degree for Infosys founder Narayana Murthy
Published 14 December 2007
In this video, Oliver Westall, Director of the Lancaster MBA, commends Narayana Murthy for the degree of Honoris Causa.
Mr Murthy founded Infosys in 1981 along with six other software professionals and served as the CEO for 21 years before handing over the reins of the company to co-founder Nandan Nilekani in 2002. He then served as Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor from 2002 to 2006.
Mr Murthy designed and implemented the Global Delivery Model, which has become the foundation for the success of IT services outsourcing from India. Among numerous honours, Mr Murthy was voted the “World Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young in 2003 and India's most powerful CEO for three consecutive years by The Economic Times.
Towering figure in the world of business
Narayana Murthy receiving his honorary doctorate. Mr Murthy knows Lancaster well. He travelled to the city frequently in the 1990s when Reebok, whose head office was in Lancaster, was an Infosys client.
“Mr Murthy is a towering figure in the world of business known for his immense contribution to India’s recognised presence in the global information technology sector.
“He is in a class of his own as a businessman; he not only tirelessly promotes the information technology industry of India but is a staunch supporter and advocate of management education in India and abroad. In commending Mr Murthy, Lancaster honours a rare individual who has made a lasting contribution to the worlds of business and business education.”
Education the key
The previous evening Mr Murthy hosted a discussion with 150 LUMS students and guests on the topic of India’s economy since liberalisation.
Dr Rick Crawley, LUMS’ Director of External Relations and Corporate Communications, said Mr Murthy provided a fascinating insight into how India should tackle the twin problems of illiteracy and poverty, especially in rural communities.
LUMS students had the chance to interact with Mr Murthy when he led a lively discussion on the Indian economy with over 150 students and guests from LUMS.
“Murthy’s view was that English is the language of international business, he and his contemporaries and their children had all benefited from an English-language education, so why deprive India's poor of that opportunity?”
Mr Murthy’s other recommendation was to accelerate the movement of labour from agriculture to low-technology manufacturing because illiteracy levels constrained what could be done.
Related links
- Narayana Murthy (Wikipedia)
- Infosys (corporate website)
Press coverage
Lancaster's award of an honorary doctorate to Mr Murthy has been widely covered in the Indian press. Coverage includes:
Narayana Murthy (centre) with MSc ITMOC students Karna Shah, Yogesh Kadam, Tushar Dawalkar, Prasanna Kashikar, Girish Chablani and MSc Management student Nipun Vyas.
