Wipro Reappoints Rishad Premji as Executive Chairman and Azim Premji as Non-Independent Director
The Board of Directors of Wipro Limited approved the reappointment of Rishad A. Premji as Whole-Time Director designated as Executive Chairman for a period of 5 years with effect from July 31, 2024.
Furthermore, the Board has also approved the reappointment of Azim H. Premji as Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director for a period of 5 years, from July 31, 2024, to July 30, 2029.
Both the reappointments are subject to the approval of shareholders.
Rishad Premji is the Executive Chairman of Wipro. He joined Wipro in 2007 and worked in several roles before becoming Executive Chairman in 2019. He started as a General Manager in Wipro’s Banking and Financial Services business, went on to head Investor Relations, and then led the strategy and M&A functions. He was also responsible for investor and government relations for the company. In his role as Executive Chairman, Rishad works closely with Wipro’s leadership team to provide direction and strategic insight to the business. He is on the boards of Wipro Enterprises (a leading player in FMCG and infrastructure engineering), Wipro-GE (a joint healthcare venture between Wipro and General Electric), and the Azim Premji Foundation (one of the largest not-for-profit initiatives in India). He was Chairman of NASSCOM. Prior to joining Wipro, he was with Bain & Company in London and also worked with GE Capital in the US in the insurance and consumer lending spaces. He is a graduate of GE’s Financial Management Programme (FMP). Rishad has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University in the US.
Azim Premji founded multiple businesses. He relinquished executive responsibilities at Wipro in July 2019 to focus on the philanthropic work of the Foundation. He is a graduate in electrical engineering from Stanford University, USA. In 2001, Premji established the Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation with a vision of contributing towards a just, equitable, humane, and sustainable society. Today, the Foundation’s work spans across education and other critical fields of human development and justice. The Foundation has its own large-scale organisation in education to help improve the quality and equity of the public education system in India, with field operations across seven states of the country, which have over 350,000 schools. It runs the not-for-profit Azim Premji University in Bangalore and Bhopal. Business Week listed him among the top 30 entrepreneurs in world history. The Financial Times, Time, Fortune, and Forbes have all named him one of the most influential people in the world, citing his leadership in business and philanthropy, including his contributions to improving public education. The Journal of Foreign Policy has listed him among the top global thinkers. The Economic Times bestowed on him the Life-Time Achievement Award. He is the first Indian recipient of the Faraday Medal and has been conferred honorary doctorates by Michigan State University, Wesleyan University (in the US), and the Indian Institutes of Technology at Bombay, Roorkee, and Kharagpur, amongst others. The Republic of France bestowed upon him the “Legion of Honor.” He was conferred in January 2011 with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India. The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy was bestowed on him in 2017.
