Wipro appoints Rishad Premji to board; posts Rs2,272 cr Q4 net

Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest information technology, consulting and business process services company, today announced the appointment of Rishad Premji, son of founder-chairman Azim Premji, to its board of directors effective 1 May 2015.

Wipro Ltd, however, reported a lower-than-expected 2 per cent increase in its net profit for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal, at Rs2,272 crore.

Revenues of the global technology provider, however, grew nearly 4 per cent to Rs12,171.4 crore on a year on year basis. Revenues from IT services on a sequential as well as year-on-year basis was nearly flat Rs11,241.7 crore.

Rishad Premji joined Wipro in 2007 and has played a critical role in defining the company's strategy and driving its mergers and acquisitions. In 2014, he spearheaded the setting up of Wipro Ventures, a $100 million fund focused on investing in new age start-ups building cutting edge technologies.

Rishad will continue to run strategy and mergers and acquisitions in addition to his new responsibilities overseeing the Technology Office, Investor and Government Relations, and Wipro Ventures, a company release said.

''He brings a unique blend of exceptional strategic insights, understanding of the technology landscape and diverse business expertise. These past eight years have given Rishad an in-depth view of the organisation and makes him well positioned to guide Wipro and carry the mantle of ownership in the years ahead,'' Ashok S Ganguly, independent director and chairman, board governance and nomination committee, Wipro Ltd, said.

''It is an absolute privilege and honor to be invited to the Board of Wipro, a company built over the past 70 years on the bedrock of uncompromising integrity and the hard work of thousands of Wiproites,'' commented Rishad Premji on his appointment.

Prior to joining Wipro, Rishad worked with Bain & Co for two years, across multiple industries, including consumer products, automobiles, telecom and insurance. He also worked for four years with GE Capital in the US across several businesses throughout the insurance and consumer lending space and is a graduate of GE's Financial Management Program (FMP).

Rishad did his BA in Economics from Wesleyan University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Rishad is on the Board of Wipro Enterprises Limited, a leading player in the FMCG & Infrastructure Engineering space and on the Board of Wipro-GE, a joint venture between Wipro and General Electric in Healthcare. 

He is also on the board of the Azim Premji Foundation, one of the largest not-for-profit initiatives in India which is focused on improving public school education working with over 350,000 government schools across the country. 

In 2014, he was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for his outstanding leadership, professional accomplishments, and commitment to society.