Infosys leader resigns with 2,000 Wake County jobs in the works

The CEO of a global technology consulting firm expanding in North Carolina has reportedly resigned after differences with company founders.

India-based Infosys released a statement Friday saying its board of directors accepted the resignation of Vishal Sikka, and that it has named U.B. Pravin Rao as interim chief executive officer. The company said Sikka will serve as executive vice chairman until a permanent CEO is hired by the end of March.

Among Sikka’s reasons for leaving were “a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing management’s ability to accelerate the Company’s transformation,” the statement said.

“The distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey,” Sikka wrote in his resignation letter.

John Gallagher, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement later Friday the Infosys management and board are “deeply committed to the company’s existing U.S. innovation strategy and investment in helping our clients tackle the challenges of a digital future.”

“We reaffirm our commitment to hiring 10,000 American workers over the next two years and opening Technology and Innovation Hubs to better serve our clients in key industries across the U.S.,” Gallagher’s statement said. “This program is central to our strategy of bringing new skills and transformational technologies to help make our American customers more competitive. We are focused on our investments in Indiana and North Carolina, and look forward to continuing on this journey and expanding the program into other states as we do our part to boost American innovation.”

Gov. Roy Cooper and Infosys President Ravi Kumar held a news conference in July to announce the company’s plans to hire 2,000 people in Wake County over five years. The jobs will pay an average of $72,146.

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The deal to expand in North Carolina came with a $25 million incentive package from the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The future Wake County facility is billed as one of four planned innovation and technology hubs in the country, mirroring plans announced in March for the first hub, in Indiana.

Wake County’s facility will focus on artificial intelligence, big data, cloud applications and cybersecurity. Kumar in July said the first 500 positions would be filled by the end of 2018, and that the company will fill the positions locally.

This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Infosys leader resigns with 2,000 Wake County jobs in the works."