Early Life
Sarojini Damodaran Shibulal, best known as S.D. Shibulal or Shibu, was born on March 1, 1955, in Alappuzha, Kerala, India. He was the only child of Dr. Damodaran, an Ayurvedic physician, and Sarojini Damodaran, who worked in the state excise department. He completed his schooling in T.D. High School, Alappuzha, and graduated from S.D. College, Alappuzha. Shibulal met his wife, Kumari, during his university days.
Rise to Success
S.D. Shibulal's career began in 1979 as a software engineer at Patni Computer Systems. In 1981, he co-founded Infosys Consultants Pvt Ltd. with six other engineers, including N.R. Narayana Murthy. Shibulal played a pivotal role in Infosys's growth, focusing on project management and client relationships in North America. He was instrumental in developing the Global delivery model for outsourced IT services. Shibulal left Infosys for a five-year sabbatical in 1991 and joined Sun Microsystems in the US. During his time at Sun, he designed and implemented the company's first e-commerce application. He returned to Infosys in 1997 and established and headed the Internet Consultancy practice. He held various senior leadership roles within Infosys, including Head of Worldwide Sales and Customer Delivery, Head of Infosys Manufacturing and Distribution, and Internet Consulting practice. In 2007, he became the Chief Operating Officer.
Key Business Strategies
As CEO and Managing Director of Infosys from 2011 to 2014, Shibulal focused on strategic partnerships and business model evolution. He was the last co-founder to serve as CEO of Infosys before Vishal Sikka took over the role. Under his leadership, Infosys introduced the Infosys 3.0 strategy to drive the company's evolution and thrived with the "Global delivery model."
Philanthropy
S.D. Shibulal, along with his wife Kumari, leads the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives (SFPI), established over 25 years ago to promote education, cultural preservation, and social development. They have founded various initiatives through SFPI, emphasizing nurturing India's artistic heritage.