Wipro appoints Patrick J Ennis as Board member
Wipro has appointed Patrick J Ennis, currently the Global Head of Technology at Intellectual Ventures, to its board of directors. Patrick is a technologist and a venture capitalist, who has spent over 25 years as an educator, inventor, also scientist. Previously, Ennis was managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, where he funded and built start-ups in a wide range of markets and technologies. He also worked at AT&T, Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies and served on numerous corporate, educational and non-profit boards.
“He brings in a unique combination of scientific curiosity, an in-depth understanding of the startup eco-system and business insights. I am confident Wipro will immensely benefit from his wide experience,” said Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro, in a statement.
The company announced through NSE in a filing that Patrick will join the Board as an Independent Director effective April 1, 2016. The statement also said, “Dr. Patrick J Ennis does not have relationship with any of the directors on the board.”
“I am delighted and honoured to be invited to join the Board of Wipro, a company with a rich heritage of technology and innovation. Wipro is one of the most trusted brands in the global IT industry and I look forward to contributing to the company’s next phase of growth,” Patrick said in a statement.
Wipro has been aggressively looking at increasing its investments to tap into disruptive technology ideas, as it doesn’t want to be left behind by other IT behemoths.
Patrick in his capacity at the Intellectual Ventures focuses on building a portfolio of patents that it buys and creates a large patent portfolio. Ennis primarily focuses on technology commercialisation worldwide at Intellectual Ventures, Wipro said.