The Narayana Murthy Story: From Humble Beginnings to Global Success

Last Updated on July 5, 2024 by Tariq

India is the land of geniuses.

We take pride in producing some of the greatest minds in the world and Shri N.R. Narayana Murthy is one of them.

He truly makes us (including myself) believe that nothing is impossible in this world.

Narayana Murthy is not just a well-established businessman, but also the epitome of vision and one of the most celebrated Indian philanthropists.

For his selfless contributions towards the growth of the Indian market and the greater good of society, Murthy stands as an inspiration for many bearing an unparalleled legacy.

Let’s take a deeper look into his humble beginnings all the way to his global success.

Narayana Murthy and Infosys

(Source: Forbes India)

N.R. Narayana Murthy is one of the most prominent figures behind laying the setting stones for one of India’s leading MNCs, Infosys.

His conceptualization, articulation, and implementation of the Global Delivery Model (GDM) led to the rapid growth of his venture Infosys and the overall growth of the Indian software industry.

Under his leading the company from the front, Infosys expanded enough to be listed both on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the U.S. and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

A visionary as great as Narayana Murthy has his firm hands in various other corporate endeavors other than Infosys as well.

In addition to leading Infosys, Mr. Murthy served as the director on the corporate board of HSBC and the boards of DBS Bank, Unilever, and ICICI.

Mr. Murthy currently serves on the Institute for Advanced Study boards at Princeton, New Jersey, and the United Nations Foundation.

Narayana Murthy’s Early Life and Career

Mr. Murthy was born into a middle-class Kannada-speaking Brahmin family, on the 20th of August 1946 in Sidlaghatta, a southwestern city in the state of Karnataka.

After his school education, Mr. Murthy went on and completed his graduation in 1967 from the National Institute of Engineering with a degree in electrical engineering.

He further received his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1969.

Before establishing Infosys in 1981, Narayana Murthy served at various other organizations.

Mr. Murthy started his professional career as a research associate at IIM Ahmedabad and later as the chief systems programmer.

This is where he worked on India’s first time-sharing computer system. He designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Limited).

Mr. Murthy started a company, Softronics.

With the company failing, after about a year and a half, Narayana Murthy joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune.

In 1981 he founded Infosys, with six software professionals and an initial capital investment of Rs 10,000 provided by his wife Sudha Murty.

From 1981 to 2002, Mr. Murthy was the CEO of Infosys.

He was succeeded by Infosys co-founder, Nandan Nilekani.

From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Murthy was the chairman of the board, after which he became the chief mentor.

In 2008, he even received the Padma Vibhushan from President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Since retiring in August 2011, Mr. Murthy holds the title of chairman emeritus.

Founding Infosys and its Growth Under Narayana Murthy’s Leadership

Narayana Murthy’s life changed in 1981 when he co-founded the most successful venture of his life, Infosys.

Under his guidance as the company’s CEO, Infosys continued to grow steadily until the 1990s.

The center’s economic liberalization and deregulation policies, along with Murthy’s vision, creativity, and conceptualization, led to the company’s aggressive growth globally.

Narayana Murthy’s extraordinary skill sets, powerful vision, and decision-making qualities boosted Infosys’s performance and growth beyond margins.

Mr. Murthy served as the company’s CEO for over 21 years.

It was under his leadership and expertise that Infosys became a world leader in innovation and software technology solutions.

Narayana Murthy also takes pride in introducing the 24 workday concepts.

His compassion towards his work and love for his country has been recognized by the people of India and the government.

Narayana Murthy’s Management Style and Philosophy

“Oftentimes I have been asked about the attributes for success, and I have said that you need two attributes for succeeding as an entrepreneur: one, courage, second, luck”.

With these being said, Murthy always aimed to become a great leader whose presence around makes his people stand an inch taller.

Aiming to provide a consistent service to its customers, Narayana Murthy introduced the full-day working concept, which is now a common practice in most companies worldwide.

Narayana Murthy is a dedicated and vigorous officer who believes in aggressively expanding his business worldwide.

Narayana Murthy’s Family and Personal Life

(Source: Wikibio)

Sudha Murthy

Narayana Murthy is married to the famous Indian author, educator, and philanthropist, Sudha Murthy.

The couple met through a common friend in Pune and eventually ended up marrying each other in the year 1978.

The golden lady Sudha Murthy has herself been awarded the Padma Bhushan, i.e., the third-highest civilian award in India this year (2023).

The couple has two children, namely Akshata Murthy and Rohan Murthy.

Akshata Murthy

Akshata Murthy is the daughter of the Indian business tycoon NR Narayana Murthy.

She’s married to the UK’s Prime Minister and the Conservative party leader since October 2022, Rishi Sunak.

Akshata Murthy holds a 0.91% stake in her father’s company which interestingly leaves her richer than the queen of England, with an estimated net worth of more than £500 million.

The couple has two daughters, namely Krishna Sunak and Anoushka Sunak.

Rohan Murty

Narayana and Sudha Murthy’s son, Rohan Murthy, founded the Murty Classical Library of India.

He’s also designated as the founder and the chief technical officer of the digital transformation company Soroco.

Rohan Murty married Lakshmi Venu, daughter of Venu Srinivasan, CEO of TVS Motors, and his wife, Mallika Srinivasan, CEO of TAFE in June 2011.

Murty got divorced in 2015 and in December 2019, he got married to Aparna Krishnan, the daughter of KR Krishnan, a former Indian Navy officer, and his wife, Savithri Krishnan.

Narayana Murthy’s Net Worth

With his extraordinary skills, vision, and art of execution, the master of software technology has a massive net worth of $ 4.3 billion. (Source: Forbes)

Most of Narayana Murthy’s wealth is attributed to his stake in Infosys and other business ventures.

Narayana Murthy has been one of India’s most recognized and wealthy persons for decades, though his wealth keeps fluctuating.

As listed by Forbes 2022,

• 41st Richest person in India
• 654th Richest Billionaire in the world

(Source: Forbes)

Philanthropic Endeavors, Including the Narayana Murthy Foundation

Narayana Murthy’s initiative aims at supporting and benefiting the poor, abandoned, disabled, women, domestic violence survivors, farmers, laborers, and scheduled castes/ tribes.

Established in 1996, the Infosys foundation, chaired by Sudha Murthy, is a non-profit wing of the company which focuses on covering the issues faced by the vulnerable community in the country.

As a contribution towards the greater good of the country and our society, this foundation built 7000 libraries in various schools and 16,000 toilets.

For their selfless and constant support towards the growth and development of the country, both Narayana and Sudha Murthy have been honored with prestigious civilian awards by the government of India.

The Impact of Narayana Murthy on the Indian Tech Industry

(Source: Hindustan Times)

The Co-founder of Infosys, Narayana Murthy, is the epitome of vision and innovation with a hint of culture in his solid personality.

He is an institution in himself.

His skill sets, farsightedness, and undisputed vision made him establish a billion-dollar empire for himself and provided a gateway for action to many others in this genre.

With the world constantly rolling very fast, India has turned out to be one of the startup capitals in the world.

A part of its gratitude can of course be extended to Narayana Murthy for his smart and moral work ethic.

Shri Narayana Murthy is a living legend and his life teaches us all about the importance of consistent work and devotion to your work.

Narayana Murthy’s Famous Quotes and Speeches

(Source: SuccessStory)

The famous quotes by Narayana Murthy are:

“It is better to underpromise and overdeliver than vice versa. For this one need not break the law of the land.”

“You become a star not because of your title; you become a star because you add value to the company.”

“A great leader also has the ability to make people an inch taller in his presence.”

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.”

“It’s very important to learn quick lessons from your failures, very important to recognize symptoms of failure pretty early, and it is very, very important to not to be attached too much to the idea – you have to know when to give up an idea.”

Narayana Murthy’s House in Bangalore: A Glimpse into his Luxurious Lifestyle

(Source: The Indian Express)

Narayana Murthy was born in Karnataka and is a Kannadiga by heart.

Narayana and his wife, Sudha Murthy, are very cultured and love leading a simple life.

They live at their ancestral home in the Jayanagar region of Bengaluru together in peace.

Conclusion: The Legacy of Narayana Murthy

It is rightly said that one man’s determination and perseverance have the power to change the whole society.

Narayana Murthy is one such gem who has transformed the lives of many.

He has also, time and again, proved that his dedication towards working for the unprivileged is colossal and that is what makes him great!

Narayana Murthy bears an immortal legacy that inspires many.

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(Feature image source: Infosys)