Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani is the President, MD and CEO of Infosys Technologies Ltd. In 1978, Nilekani joined Patni Computer Systems where his colleague was N. R. Narayana Murthy. In 1981, seven enthusiasts, including Nilekani, decided to start their own outfit, InfoSys (later renamed as Infosys) with Murthy in the lead. Nilekani became the CEO of Infosys in March 2002, taking over from Murthy. Nilekani has been named one of Asia’s Power 25 - The Most Powerful People in Business in Asia by “Fortune” magazine in 2004. In 2004, Nilekani was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award from the Government of India. In January 2006, he became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to join 20 global leaders on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Foundation Board. He is regarded by “Time” magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in its May 2006 issue. He has also been feted by “Forbes Asia” as Business Leader of the Year for 2006.