infosys executive vice-president (EVP) and the former global head 
of consulting Sanjay Purohit has resigned from the company, making it the seventh EVP exit since Vishal Sikka took over as CEO two years ago.
Purohit, who was previously the head of the products & platforms subsidiary EdgeVerve, moved to the US last year as the head of consulting, but was replaced within 18 months and was asked to relocate to India to work on strategic initiatives alongside COO U B Pravin Rao. Rajesh Krishnamurthy, president and head of energy & utilities and telecommunications, replaced Purohit as head of consulting.
Just a couple of months ago, Manish Tandon, who was EVP and head of healthcare and life sciences, quit to become the CEO of CSS Corp.
Sikka had attributed Infosys’ relatively weak performance in the June quarter partly to the consulting business. The consulting business was affected partly by an exodus of executives in Lodestone, the Zurich-based consulting firm that Infosys acquired for $350 million about four years ago. Lodestone founder Ronald Hafner quit after Infosys elevated Purohit as consulting head. Hafner’s exit encouraged several other executives to follow suit.
The spate of top-level exits is beginning to worry analysts. “Infosys is in danger of skidding onto thin ice. On the one hand, it is undergoing a reorganization with the goal to become more agile and to empower management. On the other, the continued attrition of its senior executives could slow down decision-making. As the market enters a phase of accelerated macro headwinds, all eyes will now be on the next earnings. Vishal urgently needs a decent quarter,” Tom Reuner, MD of US-based HfS Research, said.
