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Transcript: Nandan Nilekani interview

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Nandan Nilekani is co-founder and CEO of software giant Infosys -- one of the first Indian companies to be listed on the Nasdaq.

Along with six others, Nilekani set up Infosys in 1981. The company now has 50 000 employees worldwide.

CNN Financial Editor Todd Benjamin caught up with Nilekani in London. He began their conversation by asking Nilekani about getting into the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology.

Nilekani: That was a defining experience for me because I was at that time just a middle class kid from a small town, and going to IIT and really meeting some very very bright people helped me to get a lot of confidence and figure out how the world worked.

Benjamin: What was so exciting though about building the company?

Nilekani: Well I think we saw this opportunity where we said that the global technology business is going to be big, India has fantastic human capital and there's a need to create a firm which is very professional, world class, ethical and committed to excellence. And I think it was creating a company which had to transform the Indian environment and that's pretty appealing.

Benjamin: Why do you think though it succeeded ultimately?

Nilekani: It's because the founders believed in this larger vision of Infosys, and were willing to sacrifice their personal aspirations and goals for a larger goal. I think that's very important when you found a company because it's all about deferred gratification. It took us 10 years to reach a point where we even had decent money with us.

Benjamin: How do you think your cultural background influenced you as a person and in business?

Nilekani: I left my parents at a young age and went to stay with my Uncle so I became fairly independent. I realized one thing: that I could be a consensus builder when there were many people with different points of view. I had the patience to listen to those points of view and then hammer out a resolution or a solution that was acceptable to everybody. So I learnt that I had some consensus building skills - so I used that to effect. So I think a lot of that was part of my upbringing and my background.

Benjamin: You've been quoted as saying you never were ambitious. So if you're not ambitious ...

Nilekani: Well I got ambitious late in life. What I meant was, until the age of 25 I was coasting along, but I think being part of Infosys, being part of creating a revolution - that fired my ambitions. So in that sense, I'm a late maturer to ambition.

Benjamin: You've said on ethics, in business, you know the softest pillow is a clear conscience.

Nilekani: I think one of the reasons for our success is a high level of trust, and trust comes when you have ethical behavior, when you believe that everybody will play by the rules. And actually trust makes organizations more efficient, because you are not worrying about somebody's motives, you're just focusing on the job.

Benjamin: You've been quoted as saying: "India is the sort of system that allows people to rise no matter what their background is. It's a good paradigm for the kind of democratic secular country that you want to see across the world." Can you elaborate?

Nilekani: Today there's a lot of talk about democracy. People are saying there are failed countries, there are theocracies, there are totalitarian regimes, and everyone's saying we want to bring in democracy. And I think India and the founding fathers understood this very well and really created a democracy for a billion people which is secular, which allows all religions, which is diverse, which has by and large been peaceful and has allowed different people to sort of compete in a very democratic way. I think this is a great lesson for anybody who wants to propagate democracy across the world.

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