Yet, it wasn't an inflated sense of self worth that prompted this image-building exercise by the two men, but an almost intuitive understanding that this would eventually benefit the company and its investors and customers. The images of the two men and the carefully choreographed image of Infosys might have well been responsible for the valuation premium Infosys enjoyed over its peers, even the larger ones. The premium weathered the quiet exit of a man originally considered Murthy's successor and, a sexual harassment scandal and the subsequent acrimonious exit of a fabled rainmaker. As a piece in Mint on 18 April ("TCS takes over Infosys mantle of technology bellwether") pointed out, this premium has now all but vanished. Nilekani left the company a few years ago to join the government as its undesignated chief technology officer. Murthy will step down as chairman of the company later this month.