TV Mohandas Pai is currently a member of the Infosys board and also heads the company's HR and administration departments. As Infosys prepares to appoint SD Shibulal, the current COO and the last among the founders to take on the role of CEO later this year, there is an opportunity for non-founders like Pai and newer leaders to get a chance to run the firm. Chairman NR Narayana Murthy will also retire in August this year.

"It could be a great move for Infosys. He's got the ability to galvanise the team, and also address the customer. He can do both - drive the team and carry the objective to deliver. The only downside is that he's not a technical person, but that doesn't matter so much for a multi-billion dollar company of Infosys' size," said R Suresh, MD, Stanton Chase India, who's placed a number top IT executives.

When contacted by ET, Mr Pai said, "I am not aware of it - the nominations committee is an independent committee, it will take a decision on these matters." The nominations committee, consisting of Prof Jeffery S Lehman, Deepak M Satwalekar and Omkar Goswami, is responsible for succession planning for the roles of chairman, CEO, COO and CFO.