Weeks before his official last day at the company, outgoing chairman Azim Premji, addressing shareholders at the Wipro AGM, said that he had irrevocably renounced more of his personal assets making the total value of his contributions over time Rs 1,50,000 crores.
The famed philanthropist and business leader is set to step down as chairman of Wipro on 30 July and will be succeeded by son Rishad, who will take over as executive chairman. Premji will continue to serve on the Board and as founder chairman of the IT firm.
“If we look back at the journey of Wipro in the last seven decades, from a small vegetable oil company to a leading information technology company that we are today, we have evolved by constantly by re-inventing ourselves and creating newer opportunities. This has been possible because of the dedication and hard work of Wiproites, and our absolute commitment to our values, which we call the Spirit of Wipro,” reads an excerpt from the letter Premji read out at his last AGM.
Four-Pillared Strategy to Succeed
Premji said that Wipro had been investing in digital, cloud, engineering services and cyber security in order to deliver solutions to clients in the four key areas of ‘Business Re-imagination, Engineering Transformation & Modernization, Connected Intelligence, and Trust.’
Premji also spoke about Wipro’s responsibility to inclusive growth and ensure that employees continued to reinvent and learn to stay relevant and upto date with digital technologies.
Giving Back to the Community
“This year, we have significantly scaled up the use of renewable energy for our operations, which now contributes 40% of our total consumption... Our social and community initiatives have deepened and grown over the years. Education has been the primary focus of our work for close to two decades now...Our employees have worked on education for disadvantaged children and for children with disabilities. Through Wipro Cares, our employees have worked on education for disadvantaged children and for children with disabilities,” said Premji.
New Roles
“He has been an integral part of the leadership team since 2007, and has a deep understanding of the company, its business strategy, its culture and its heritage,” Premji said about his son Rishad. He also added that Abidali Neemuchwala will be the Managing Director of Wipro Limited come 31 July, as well as performing the role of CEO.
Premji himself will continue to serve as the Non-Executive Director and Founder Chairman, “while dedicating most of my time and energy to the philanthropic efforts of the Foundation.”
“Leading Wipro from 1966 till now has been the greatest privilege of my life, it has been an extraordinary journey. I want to thank the generations of Wiproites and their families for their contribution towards building our company to what it is today.”Azim Premji
(With inputs from PTI)
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