Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946) is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys,[6] and has previously served as the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor[7] of the company before retiring and taking the title chairman emeritus.[8][9][10] As of August 2024, his net worth was estimated to be $5.1 billion, making him the 606th richest person in the world according to Forbes.[11] Murthy is the father-in-law of Rishi Sunak, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024.
As per Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, dated 9 October 2024, N.R. Narayana Murthy is ranked 62nd with a net worth of $5.3 Billion.[12]
Murthy was born and raised in Shidlaghatta, Karnataka. Murthy first worked at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, as chief systems programmer, and Patni Computer Systems in Pune, Maharashtra. He founded Infosys in 1981 and was the CEO from 1981 to 2002, as well as the chairman from 2002 to 2011. In 2011, he stepped down from the board and became the chairman emeritus. In June 2013, Murthy was appointed as the executive chairman for a period of five years.[13][14]
Murthy mentions that being arrested and expelled for no good reason during the communist era 1974 in a border town near the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border, turned him into a "compassionate capitalist" from a "confused leftist/communist". In 1981 he, with six software professionals, founded Infosys[29][30][31] with an initial capital investment of Rs 10,000, which was provided by his wife Sudha Murty.[32] Murthy was the CEO of Infosys for 21 years from 1981 to 2002[30] and was succeeded by co-founder Nandan Nilekani.[32] At Infosys he articulated, designed and implemented a global delivery model for IT services outsourcing from India.[33] He was the chairman of the board from 2002 to 2006, after which he also became the chief mentor.[32][34] In August 2011, he retired from the company, taking the title chairman emeritus.[9][10]
In June 2013, Murthy returned to Infosys as executive chairman and a director.[39] In June 2014, he stood down as executive chairman, was non-executive chairman until October, when he became chairman emeritus.[40]
Murthy is also on the strategic board which advises the national law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, on strategic, policy and governance issues.[41] He is a member of IESE's International Advisory Board (IAB).[42]
In 2010, Murthy has made an investment in SKS Microfinance along with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.
[43]
In 2011, Murthy has made a controversial statement on IIT Students about their abilities.
[44]
In 2016, Murthy spoke with Harvard Business Review Ascend[45] on the subject of "How To Be a Better Manager".[46]
In 2017, Murthy raised concerns over alleged corporate governance lapses at Infosys, however the company went on to deny these claims.[47]
in 2025, Muthy faced backlash for suggesting that working hours be increased to 70 hours to increase India's productivity.[48][49]
Personal life
Murthy's wife Sudha is an educator, author, and philanthropist who has served as the chairperson of the non-profit Infosys Foundation.[50] They have two children together: a son, Rohan, and a daughter, Akshata.[51] From June 2013 to June 2014, Rohan Murthy joined Infosys as an executive assistant to his father.[52][40] He left Infosys to create his own company called Soroco in 2014.[53] In 2009, Akshata married British-Indian Conservative politician Rishi Sunak, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024.[54]
N, Chokkan (2007). Narayana Murthy: I.T. guru. Chennai: Oxygen Books.
Mitra, Meera (2007). It's only business!: India's corporate social responsiveness in a globalized world; with a foreword by N. R. Narayana Murthy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
.JPG)
.jpg)
