New Kid On The Block: Rishad Premji To Join Wipro Board From May 1

BENGALURU: Ending months of speculation, IT firm Wipro announced the appointment of Rishad Premji, elder son of the company's billionaire founder Azim Premji, on the company's board. 

By appointing Rishad on its highest decision-making body, Wipro is doubling down on the efforts to ensure that the company navigates through the changing technology landscape by identifying the next disruptive bets. Earlier this year, Wipro also appointed Tata Consultancy Services veteran Abid Ali Neemuchwala as its chief operating officer in a move aimed at giving more time to CEO TK Kurien in shaping Wipro's future bets. 

"He brings a unique blend of exceptional strategic insights, understanding of the technology landscape and diverse business expertise," said Ashok S Ganguly, independent director and chairman of the nominations committee of Wipro's board. For his part, Rishad, who has been groomed through the ranks over past eight years after joining Wipro as a manager in 2007, has played an instrumental role in helping the company tap into the next big bets. 

Last year, Rishad established Wipro Ventures, a $100-million fund focused on investing in new age startups. ET had reported on October 6 last year that India's third largest software exporter is planning to appoint Rishad on the board. The company announced the appointment minutes before its fourth quarter earnings conference evening. 

"Wipro is a huge business, very well-setup, entrenched into outsourcing — but the whole ecosystem is changing. The traditional outsourcing model needs a reboot — and such a change is not easy when the ship is large," said Naveen Tewari, co-founder of InMobi, who was an MBA batch mate of Rishad at Harvard Business School between 2003 and 2005. "Rishad's next frontier will depend on whether he is able to help bring about the transformation Wipro is attempting to undertake in the world of next-gen t technologies and innovation. It will require a complete DNA change and if he's able to help Wipro do that, he would've truly earned his stripes." 
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