Pai dismissed all talk of a rift with the senior management of Infosys that could have led to his exit. It was widely speculated that he could take up the post of chief operating officer over the next couple of months and had aspirations to become the CEO of Infosys.

"It was never my aspiration to be the CEO of Infosys," he said. He added that it is sad to leave a company that he helped build all these years but felt that the new leaders need to be empowered.

"It was time to pass on the baton."

"I had been thinking about this (resignation) for the last one year," Pai said and added that he would not take up an executive role at any other place but was considering to take up board level positions at a couple of companies.

"I also want to do something for the cause of better education system in the country."

Who is Mohandas Pai?

Mohan joined Infosys in 1994 and has served as a Member of the Board since May 2000.

He was the chief financial officer from 1994 to 2006.

In 2006, he voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to lead efforts in the areas of Human Resources and Education and Research.

He also works with the Union Government and state governments in the fields of education, IT and business.

Mohan holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore, and a bachelor's degree in law (LLB) from Bangalore University. He is also a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India