Wipro's Azim Premji to hand over baton to son Rishad Premji

Rishad to be executive chairman of Wipro; CEO Neemuchwala will also be MD

Wipro's Azim Premji and Rishad Premji

After having led the company for 53 years, IT czar and founder of Wipro Ltd. Azim H. Premji will retire as the executive chairman on July 30, 2019.

Rishad Premji, who is the chief strategy officer and member of the Wipro board, will take over as the executive chairman of the company. Wipro’s announcement followed a board meeting on Thursday.

However, Mr. Azim Premji will continue to serve on the board as non-executive director and founder-chairman, said the company.

The board has also announced that chief executive officer and executive director Abidali Z. Neemuchwala would be re-designated as chief executive officer and managing director .

All these changes will be effective July 31, 2019.

Mr. Azim Premji transformed a small hydrogenated cooking fat-making company into an $8.5 billion global IT powerhouse while also leading the transformation of Wipro Enterprises Limited into a global FMCG, infrastructure engineering and medical devices leader, with revenue of approximately $2 billion.

He will remain the chairman of Wipro Enterprises and continue to chair the board of Wipro-GE Healthcare, said the company.

‘Satisfying journey’

The senior Premji said, “I wish to thank generations of Wiproites and their families for their contribution towards building our company to what it is today. I am grateful to our clients, partners, and other stakeholders who have reposed trust and confidence in us.

“It has been a long and satisfying journey for me. As I look into the future, I plan to devote more time to our philanthropic activities. I have great confidence and trust in Rishad’s leadership to steer Wipro in its next phase of growth.”

Chairman-designate Mr. Rishad Premji said, “I am humbled and honoured to be invited to chair the board of Wipro Limited, a company that has, over decades, demonstrated that success can be built on the foundation of strong values and uncompromising integrity. This is a testament to the spirit and dedication of thousands of Wiproites.”

“I am very excited about our future and the opportunity to create value for all our stakeholders in these transformative times for Wipro and the technology industry,’’ he said.