Two of India’s most influential institution builders, Mr. Narayana Murthy and Mr. Aditya Puri, came together for a fireside conversation at the IIM Bangalore campus earlier today to discuss leadership, institution-building, and India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape. The session, titled ‘The Art of Building Legendary Companies’, was hosted by Catamaran in association with IIM Bangalore and moderated by M. D. Ranganath, Chairman, Catamaran.
The event saw participation from entrepreneurs, business leaders, students, and faculty members. Ms. Sudha Murty, Chairperson of the Murty Trust, and Mr. U. Dinesh Kumar, Director (In-charge), IIM Bangalore, were also present at the discussion.
Setting the tone for the session, Mr. Ranganath recalled the economic and regulatory challenges that prevailed when Infosys and HDFC Bank were founded. He highlighted the limited access to capital, restrictive regulations, and the absence of a developed entrepreneurial ecosystem at the time, noting how both institutions were built from first principles despite these constraints.
The discussion focused on the founders’ leap of faith—leaving secure careers to establish organisations without proven models or strong external backing. Both Mr. Murthy and Mr. Puri reflected on the difficulty of attracting early employees, where shared conviction, values, and long-term vision outweighed immediate financial incentives.
Speaking about Infosys’ formative years, Mr. Murthy said, “I never wanted Infosys to just be the largest in terms of revenue, net profit or market cap. I wanted it to be the most respected company in the eyes of its stakeholders.” He stressed that austerity and fairness were core to Infosys’ culture from inception, adding, “Trust is built over time through fairness and sacrifice. Leaders must be unequivocal about values and demonstrate them consistently through action.”
He further noted that this approach led to equitable wealth creation, with Infosys stock delivering an annualised return of 47% during his leadership tenure.
Reflecting on the importance of fundamentals, Mr. Puri spoke about HDFC Bank’s early years and said, “If you don’t set the culture right on day one, if you don’t set the systems and your purpose on day one, you will never build a sustainable organisation. If your only objective is top line or profit, you don’t see the full picture. That cannot be the purpose of your existence.”
Echoing Mr. Murthy’s views, he added, “The purpose of your existence is to be relevant, to be a valuable member of society, and to be respected. And respect can only be earned. The right product, the right fit, at the right price, delivered with integrity—and thereafter, whatever you earn must be fairly distributed. If you don’t want to share value with employees and want to keep it all, why should they commit themselves to the organisation?”
On building investor trust, Mr. Puri said, “Banking, for me, was never about being elite. Our purpose was to take banking to every section of society, build trust with every stakeholder, and keep reinventing ourselves as the world moved.”
He also underlined the importance of enduring principles amid changing environments. “When you start your career, the fundamentals matter most—you define your market, your product, your margins, the technology and the people, and then you execute. But as the world evolves, you must evolve with it. Your values and your system of analysis must remain constant—you must simply learn to distinguish between hype and reality.”
When asked about what he admired most in Mr. Puri, Mr. Murthy said, “In my opinion, Aditya is the finest entrepreneur produced by our country post-Independence. What is truly impressive is that he succeeded in the Indian environment—taking an institution from zero revenues to a market capitalisation of nearly USD 155 billion.”
The session concluded with reflections aimed at students and early-stage founders, drawing lessons from building companies in an era devoid of venture capital playbooks—insights that remain relevant in today’s capital-rich yet competitive startup ecosystem.
