When Rishad Premji, 32-year-old son of Wipro founder Azim Premji, joined the company as a business manager two years ago, he had to travel almost 10 kilometres from his Koramangla residence to work at the company?s electronic city campus.
As the eldest son of Premji moves into a new role of general manager, treasury and Investor Relations (IR) at Wipro?s corporate headquarters on Sarjapur road, starting Wednesday, he will only need to drive around 5 kilometres every day.
For somebody who is looked upon as heir to Premji, moving up the corporate ladder continues to be a normal process?something Premji himself ensured ever since he proposed his eldest son join Wipro.
?This is just a role change for him, just like anybody else in the company,? said a senior Wipro official requesting anonymity. ?From the very beginning, it was made clear that he is being brought as a normal employee, and he will have to earn his position through performance,? he added.
Indeed, ever since Rishad joined Wipro, there?s been speculation about him being groomed to lead Wipro. But some insiders say, it will be a gradual process. ?For all you know, Wipro could form a trust just like the Tatas, and the company could be run by professional leaders including Rishad,? a person said. He requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak about Wipro?s succession plans.
For Rishad, who is married to his childhood friend Aditi and has two kids?Rhea and Rohaan?the past two years have helped him understand the business of software.
According to Rajendra Kumar Shreemal, Wipro?s head of IR, Rishad has helped the company evolve its financial services practice by leading two acquisitions and also spearheading Wipro?s operating margin improvement initiative.
Rishad will be reporting to Shreemal in his new role. In his earlier assignment, he reported to Soumitro Ghosh, senior vice-president of Wipro?s banking and financial services division.
In a year when Wipro is preparing to cope with falling revenues from customers, Rishad helped the company in two critical acquisitions. ?He helped us in a significant acquisition we did recently?he was the integration head for our Citi Technology Services acquisition,? Shreemal said. ?He has championed some of our major non-linear initiatives including acquisition of Gallagher Financial Systems and alliance with Cenlar Financial last year,? he added.
Rishad?s new role will involve handling investor relations and maintaining dialogue with Wipro?s financial investors and key stakeholders besides managing the company?s treasury. ?He already has exposure to treasury when he worked at GE Capital,? added Shreemal. With an MBA degree from Harvard Business School, Rishad worked with GE Capital and consulting firm Bain &Co before he joined Wipro in July 2007.
Meanwhile, Tariq Premji, Rishad?s younger brother, continues to work with the Premji Foundation, which is focused on providing improving education quality across primary schools.
Source: The Economic Times
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