When Phaneesh Murthy stepped into advisory roles at three distinctly different technology companies—InfoBeans, CriticalRiver, and Covasant Technologies—he wasn’t simply adding titles to his portfolio. He was testing a new model of executive leadership that multiplies influence by applying lessons across companies, while generating cross-company intelligence that is impossible to achieve through traditional single-organization roles.
The breadth proves striking: InfoBeans operates as an AI-first design and software company, CriticalRiver specializes in cloud and digital transformation services, while Covasant pioneers autonomous AI agents for enterprise automation. This simultaneity creates comparative market insights, enables talent cross-pollination between organizations, and distributes strategic risk across different technology adoption cycles.
This approach reflects broader industry changes as 78% of senior executives believe AI will enhance their value over the next three years. Rather than sequential CEO positions, experienced leaders are positioning themselves as strategic multipliers, and Murthy’s advisory portfolio demonstrates how this transformation works in practice.
Building Cross-Company Intelligence Networks
Where traditional executives focus on one organization at a time, Murthy has built an ecosystem that spans different technology specializations. InfoBeans operates as an AI-first design and software company, CriticalRiver specializes in cloud and digital transformation services, while Covasant pioneers autonomous AI agents for enterprise automation. This breadth creates comparative insights impossible to achieve within a single company.
“The industry is flooded with AI hype. Everyone has a chatbot!” Murthy observed when discussing enterprise AI adoption. This critique gains credibility from his ability to observe implementation challenges across three different AI approaches simultaneously. While InfoBeans pursues AI-led software engineering, CriticalRiver integrates AI into traditional IT services, and Covasant builds autonomous agents for complex business processes. The contrast reveals which AI applications deliver measurable business value versus those that merely provide superficial automation.
This intelligence-gathering advantage becomes particularly valuable in emerging technology markets. Murthy’s appointment with Covasant in 2025 coincided with the transition of autonomous AI agents from concept to enterprise reality. His assessment that “very few are building what Covasant is: autonomous AI agents with human in the loop, that can actually run a supply chain, manage a financial audit, or solve other real-business challenges” reflects market positioning insights gained from observing AI implementation across his portfolio companies.
The multiplicative model also enables risk distribution across different technology adoption cycles. While one company may face market headwinds in traditional IT services, another benefits from AI automation demand. This portfolio effect provides strategic stability that single-company executives cannot achieve.
Talent Cross-Pollination Across Portfolio Companies
Murthy’s most distinctive innovation involves developing talent ecosystems that extend across multiple organizations rather than competing for the same skilled professionals. “This commitment to mentoring and hand-holding young talent created a culture of loyalty, innovation, and excellence in the companies he led,” according to industry analysis of his leadership approach.
The talent development strategy addresses a critical industry challenge: unemployment rates for software developers, systems analysts, and security analysts remain well below national averages, creating intense competition for skilled workers. Instead of traditional recruiting battles, Murthy’s portfolio companies implement cross-company mentoring programs where senior professionals from one organization develop capabilities at partner companies.
This cross-pollination proves especially valuable as technology roles transform. Emerging positions like AI integration specialists and digital transformation strategists require hybrid skills that traditional hiring cannot easily fill. The portfolio approach enables systematic skill development programs that prepare talent for new roles across the entire network. When InfoBeans needs AI expertise, professionals can learn from Covasant’s autonomous agent development. When CriticalRiver requires digital transformation specialists, they can access InfoBeans’ design thinking methodologies.
The ecosystem approach also reduces talent retention risks. Professionals who might otherwise leave for career advancement can move between portfolio companies while remaining within Murthy’s mentoring network. This creates loyalty structures that extend beyond individual organizations to encompass the entire advisory portfolio.
Replicable Advisory Methodologies Across Markets
Rather than customizing his approach for each company, Murthy applies consistent methodologies that adapt to different market contexts. At InfoBeans, he focuses on enhancing sales effectiveness for companies positioning themselves in competitive AI markets. At CriticalRiver, the emphasis shifts to preparing for potential IPO advancement while maintaining operational excellence. With Covasant, the focus is on the commercialization of autonomous AI agents and enterprise adoption strategies.
“I am excited to be advising a fundamentally sound organization that has great potential and is run by very competent founders who are authentic people,” he stated regarding his InfoBeans appointment. This philosophy—identifying strong leadership teams and applying proven scaling methodologies—remains consistent across all three advisory positions while adapting to each company’s specific challenges.
The methodology transfer becomes evident in how similar principles address different technological domains. The relationship-building approaches that proved successful in traditional IT services translate effectively to AI-first companies like InfoBeans. The integration strategies developed during the scaling of enterprise software apply directly to CriticalRiver’s cloud transformation services. The outcome-focused measurement systems work equally well for Covasant’s autonomous agent implementations.
This replicable approach enables Murthy to maximize his impact across multiple organizations without diluting his effectiveness. Each company benefits from battle-tested methodologies while contributing new insights that enhance the overall portfolio intelligence.
The Future of Executive Influence
Murthy’s advisory portfolio represents more than individual success stories—it demonstrates how senior executives can maintain relevance and maximize impact in an industry where no single company dominates all technological domains. As McKinsey identifies 13 frontier technologies reshaping business, traditional leadership models that focus on single organizations increasingly appear limited.
The Services-as-Software model that Murthy emphasizes at Covasant illustrates this evolution. This approach combines insights from traditional IT services scaling, AI-first product development, and the commercialization of autonomous agents. No single company experience could generate this synthesis—it requires cross-portfolio intelligence gathering.
The multiplicative leadership model also addresses contemporary industry challenges where 65% of companies increase their use of contract talent and skills-based hiring becomes more prominent. Traditional executives embedded in single organizations struggle to adapt to these flexible structures. Portfolio leaders like Murthy can observe how different companies experiment with new operational models while providing strategic continuity across the entire network.
Looking ahead, as AI becomes integrated into core business processes, leadership models must address technological transformation across multiple domains simultaneously. Murthy’s approach demonstrates how experienced executives can guide several organizations through parallel scaling challenges while building intelligence networks that benefit all participants.
The portfolio advisory model represents the next evolution of executive influence in technology services. Rather than sequential leadership roles that limit impact to one company at a time, this approach enables senior leaders to shape entire market segments while generating insights impossible to achieve through traditional career paths.
