His professional journey began in 1987 at Sonata Software, where he spent five years excelling in sales and marketing.
Phaneesh Murthy is a well-known Indian business leader who has left a strong mark on the IT industry. Born into a middle-class family in Bengaluru, he pursued a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras and later completed a PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad. His professional journey began in 1987 at Sonata Software, where he spent five years excelling in sales and marketing.
He later joined Infosys, where he became the Global Sales Head. During his time there, he played a key role in driving the company’s growth, helping increase its revenue from USD 2 million to around USD 700 million over a decade. His impressive performance made him a leading contender to succeed Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy. However, in 2002, Phaneesh’s career at Infosys came to an abrupt halt due to allegations of sexual harassment, leading to his exit.
The Infosys lawsuit was filed by Phaneesh’s executive secretary Reka Maximovitch, a Bulgarian American national, complaining of sexual harassment and wrongful termination of her employment.
Infosys paid USD 570,000 to Phaneesh Murthy as part of the final settlement of his dues when he resigned in July 2003 as head of Infosys’ worldwide sales and marketing and from the company’s board of directors.
According to reports, Earlier, in 2003, Infosys paid USD 3 million or about Rs 15 crore for an out of court settlement in the sexual harassment lawsuit against Murthy who was the company’s member of the board at that time.
After leaving Infosys, he founded Quintant Services, which soon caught the attention of iGATE Global Solutions. iGATE acquired Quintant in 2003, and Phaneesh became the CEO and President of the company. Under his leadership, iGATE experienced rapid expansion. One of his major achievements was overseeing the USD 1.22 billion acquisition of Patni Computer Systems, making iGATE one of India’s leading IT firms.
However, his stint at iGATE also ended in controversy. In 2013, he was dismissed following another harassment lawsuit. Since then, Phaneesh has shifted his focus towards entrepreneurship and consulting. He currently leads Primentor, a consulting firm that advises senior executives and helps companies implement high-growth strategies.
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