S. Gopalakrishnan
Co-Founder
Executive Co-Chairman
S. Gopalakrishnan (Kris), along with N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys in 1981. Kris served as Director (Technical) and his initial responsibilities included the management of design, development, implementation, and support of information systems for clients in the consumer products industry in the U.S.
Between 1987 and 1994, Kris served as the Vice President for Technical Operations of KSA/Infosys, a joint venture between Infosys and KSA located in Atlanta, U.S. In 1994, he returned to India and was appointed Deputy Managing Director of Infosys.
Before becoming the CEO and Managing Director in July 2007, Kris served as the company's Chief Operating Officer, President and Joint Managing Director, responsible for customer services, technology, investments, and acquisitions. He took over as the Executive Co-Chairman on August 21, 2011.
Recognized as a global business and technology thought leader, Kris was recently voted the top CEO (IT Services category) in Institutional Investor’s inaugural ranking of Asia’s Top Executives and selected as one of the winners of the 2nd Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia in 2011. He was also selected to Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers compiled by Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, in association with the IE Business School, Madrid and the London Business School's Management Innovation Lab in 2009.
In January 2011, the Government of India awarded Kris the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian honor. He has also represented Infosys and the country in international forums such as: The Indo-US CEO Council; President’s Council of New York Academy of Sciences; and Member of UNESCO High-Level panel on Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equity. Kris was also the Chairman of The Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012 (BASD), a coalition of international business groups committed to sustainable development.
In April 2012, Kris was appointed as a member of the reconstituted United Nations Global Compact Board for three years. The Global Compact Board is the UN’s highest level advisory body, involving business, civil society, labor and employers organizations. He is also a member of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) International Advisory Board and Fudan University School of Management International Advisory Board. Both CEIBS and Fudan University School of Management are prestigious business schools in China and the Asia region.
Kris is the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Council and on the Board of Governors at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore. He is also the Chairman of Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), Kerala and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore. He is a member of ACM, IEEE and IEEE Computer Society.
Kris holds master's degrees in Physics and Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.