Infotech Lead India: iGATE has sacked its CEO Phaneesh Murthy over sexual harassment charges.
Gerhard Watzinger will be the new president and CEO of iGATE on an interim basis.
iGATE’s board of directors has terminated the employment of its president and CEO Phaneesh Murthy due to the facts and circumstances surrounding Murthy’s relationship with a subordinate employee and a claim of sexual harassment.
The ongoing investigation has found that Murthy’s failure to report this relationship violated iGATE’s policy, as well as Murthy’s employment contract. The investigation has not uncovered any violation of iGATE’s harassment policy.
Sunil Wadhwani, co-founder and co-chairman of the board of iGATE, said: “We recognize the significant contributions Murthy has provided over the past ten years in helping to establish iGATE as a leader in the IT industry. He has worked hard to improve the value of iGATE, and we greatly appreciate his efforts. However, as a result of this violation of iGATE policy, we asked Murthy to step down.”
Murthy will get post termination benefits of $6,000 per month, indexed for inflation, until Murthy and his spouse reach the age of 65 or become eligible for health coverage under a government-sponsored program.
Meanwhile, Murthy denied the development, saying: “This is part of a conspiracy. I am not part of this case. I will prove this in court.”
Previously, former Infosys employee Rekha Maximovitch had filed a sexual harassment case against Murthy.
This means, Murthy faced similar cases earlier as well. When he was with Infosys, Murthy was considered as the next CEO to take over from Narayana Murthy. But his fortunes ended in Infosys, when the software exporter settled the sexual harassment case for $3 million.
“Murthy’s departure was not related in any way to the company’s operational or financial performance, both of which remain strong,” said Ashok Trivedi, co-founder and co-chairman of the Board of iGATE.
“iGATE will continue to focus on creating value for our customers and shareholders, while upholding the highest ethical standards in every area of our business,” Trivedi added.
