India's second top software services provider Infosys Ltd announced that Ashok Vemuri had resigned from the company's board. Vemuri was also head of the company's operations in the Americas.

As the company's global head of manufacturing and engineering services, Vemuri was widely considered as a contender for the top job at the company. Current chief executive S.D. Shibulal's term was to end in 2015, and the company has been grooming Vemuri to take his place.

Infosys said in a statement that Sanjay Jalona, the current regional head for manufacturing in North America, would be taking over as the global head of manufacturing. 

With headquarters in Bangalore, Infosys is the third-largest India-based IT services company and the second largest employer of H-1B visa professionals in the United States as of 2012. The company also provides business consulting and outsourcing services. It became India's sixth largest publicly traded company in March, with a market capitalization of USD30.8 billion.