Hyderabad: Sudha Murthy, Chairman of Infosys Foundation and one of the brains behind Infosys - among India's largest Information Technology (IT) companies - has finally decided to call it quits, as she heads for her retirement on Friday.
Murthy, who started heading the foundation in 1996, has accomplished much with relative grace and composure.
Born on August 19, 1950, in Karnataka's Shiggaon, Murthy completed her graduation in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology. She followed this up by getting her post-graduation done at the Indian Institute of Science.
The gradual upward rise of Murthy's career took a flight in 1974 in Pune, with TELCO (TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company). It is here where her tryst with engineering began.
After a letter to the chairman alleging gender bias in the company environment, she was interviewed and subsequently hired at TELCO, currently Tata Motors, in Pune as a Development Engineer, becoming the first female engineer to achieve the feat.
In 1981, she moved to Mumbai and eventually to Jamshedpur.
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The Infosys saga began in 1996, with the creation of the Infosys Foundation.
Murthy is one of the trustees of the charitable organization and has overlooked throughout the year's various areas of social responsibility. The foundation, till this point, has made 2,300 houses in flood-prone areas across the country, alongside 16,000 public toilets.
The Murthy foundation has assisted, under Sudha Murthy's watch, in several natural disasters, such as the tsunami in Tamil Nadu and Andaman, earthquake in Kutch, hurricane and floods in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh among others.
Apart from her role at the organization, she has also held several teaching stints, including as the Visiting Professor at the Bangalore University as well as the Christ University, Bangalore.
In 2011, she received the 'Attimabbe Award' – prestigious literary acclaim in Karnataka, for her literary work in Kannada and English.
Among books authored by her, two are travelogues, two technical books, six novels, and three educative books.
Even though her journey at Infosys Foundation has ended, Murthy hopes to continue her work in the domain of social responsibility, apart from one of her biggest interests, archaeology.
