News: End of the era: Azim Premji to retire next month

Leadership

End of the era: Azim Premji to retire next month

Rishad Premji will succeed Azim Premji and become the company's new Chairman.
End of the era: Azim Premji to retire next month

Azim Premji, Founder and Chairman of Wipro Ltd has announced his retirement next month. He would retire as an Executive Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of the company by the end of July. 

Rishad Premji, the current Chief Strategist Officer & Member of the Board, Wipro Ltd. will succeed Azim Premji as the new Chairman. Additionally,  Abidali Z. Neemuchwala will be re-designated as CEO and managing director.

After having led the company for 53 years, Azim Premji shared in a statement, “It has been a long and satisfying journey for me. As I look into the future, I plan to devote more time to focus on our philanthropic activities. I have great confidence and trust in Rishad's leadership to steer Wipro in its next phase of growth as we move forward.”

Wipro's independent director Ashok S. Ganguly shared in media, Azim Premji's exceptional generosity makes him one of the greatest philanthropists of our time.

He further said that Rishad's understanding of the global technology industry, strong strategic orientation and diverse leadership experience make him the right person to guide Wipro. He is also best positioned to represent the interests and fundamental social purpose of the largest shareholder of Wipro.

As the Chief Strategy Officer, Rishad has led Wipro's M&A strategy and conceptualized Wipro ventures, a $100 Mn fund to invest in start-ups developing technologies and solutions that will complement Wipro’s businesses with next generation services and products.

Azim Premji will continue to be an independent director. He is currently the second richest person in India with an estimated net worth of US$21.5 billion as of May 2019. In 2013, he agreed to give away at least half of his wealth by signing The Giving Pledge. Premji started with a $2.2 billion donation to the Azim Premji Foundation, focused on education in India. 

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Topics: Leadership

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