Building Companies Without Playbooks: Murthy and Puri on Values, Vision and Long-Term Trust
A fireside discussion at IIM Bangalore today brought together Mr. Narayana Murthy and Mr. Aditya Puri to share insights on leadership, values, and institution-building in India. 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 gathering included entrepreneurs, business leaders, students, and faculty, with Ms. Sudha Murty, Chairperson of the Murty Trust, and Mr. U. Dinesh Kumar, Director (In-charge), IIM Bangalore, also attending.
Setting the context, Mr. Ranganath reflected on the period during which Infosys and HDFC Bank were founded, describing an environment characterised by limited capital availability, regulatory hurdles, and a developing entrepreneurial ecosystem. He drew parallels between the journeys of the two institutions, noting how both were built from first principles.
The discussion examined the risks founders took in leaving secure careers to build companies without proven business models or strong external backing. Both leaders spoke about the importance of conviction, shared values, and long-term vision in persuading early employees to join their journeys.
Speaking about Infosys’ early priorities, 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 emphasised the role of fairness and discipline, stating, “Trust is built over time through fairness and sacrifice. Leaders must be unequivocal about values and demonstrate them consistently through action.”
He added that this philosophy led to equitable wealth creation, with Infosys stock delivering an annualised return of 47% during his leadership.
Reflecting on HDFC Bank’s formative years, Mr. Puri underscored the importance of setting the right foundations early. “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,” he said.
He continued, “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 the subject of credibility and trust, Mr. Puri remarked, “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 further said that enduring success depends on holding firm to core principles. “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.”
Praising 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 insights for students and early-stage founders, highlighting lessons from building companies in a time before venture capital playbooks became common.
