Nandan Nilekani

Early Life and Education

Nandan Mohanrao Nilekani was born in Bangalore, India, on June 2, 1955. He attended Bishop Cotton Boys' School and St. Joseph's High School in Dharwad before earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Rise to Success

Nilekani began his career at Patni Computer Systems in 1978. In 1981, he co-founded Infosys with six other colleagues, including N.R. Narayana Murthy. He served as the CEO of Infosys from March 2002 to April 2007, during which time the company's revenue grew significantly. He returned to Infosys in 2017 as the non-executive chairman.

Key Business Strategies

Nilekani's leadership at Infosys was marked by a focus on building a strong corporate culture, prioritizing customer relationships, and investing in innovation. His strategic vision helped Infosys expand its global footprint and become a leader in the IT services industry. He also played a key role in implementing the Aadhaar project, which has provided unique identification numbers to over a billion Indians.

Philanthropy

Nilekani and his wife, Rohini Nilekani, are signatories to The Giving Pledge. They have established separate philanthropic initiatives, with a focus on areas such as urbanization and biodiversity. He has also invested in several startups and venture capital funds like Fundamentum.