Tampa (Florida) May 16

The University of South Florida has honoured Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy with the Global leadership and Free Enterprise Awards for his leadership and contributions to the international business world.

Presenting Infosys chairman emeritus Murthy with the awards at the Patel Centre for Global Sustainability here Monday, USF President Judy Genshaft praised him for his entrepreneurial spirit, according to a university press release.

Earlier, in an informal conversation with past and present students, Murthy said because of his middle class background, it was not as difficult for his company to maintain its values as it might be for the mass of people eking out a living.

‘You need a spirit of sacrifice and you need to have trust,’ he said.

Murthy explained how the company’s ethos has its roots in the very first meeting held at his house in Mumbai with his six fellow founders. Their discussion was focused on profitability.

Murthy focused their attention on ‘seeking respect’, ‘living in harmony with society’ and making sure ‘you don’t shortchange your customers,’ he said. When you do those things, ‘revenue will come. Profit will come’.

In response to a question from about the chances of Murthy entering politics, he mentioned his preference for ‘rational discussion’ and the difficulty the political world offers for such and expressed some hesitation.

Kaushal Chari, chair of the USF information systems and decision sciences department, said Murthy’s story is inspiring for students.

‘He’s a world-class business leader,’ said Chari, who leads a study abroad trip to India every year for business students.

IANS

source: http://www.india.nydailynews.com / Home> News> Desi News / Wednesday, May 16th, 2012