Rishad Premji joins Wipro Group’s highest decision-making body

Bengaluru: The Wipro Group, which comprises listed software services company Wipro Ltd and two privately held companies, has inducted Rishad Premji, son of billionaire chairman Azim Premji, to its highest decision-making body, the group executive council (GEC).

Rishad Premji, 38, was earlier this month brought on board the GEC, which shapes strategic priorities for both the information technology (IT) and non-IT business of Bengaluru-based Wipro, said a person familiar with the development.

Rishad Premji is now on the executive decision-making bodies of all companies within Wipro; last month, he was inducted to the board of the $7.1 billion Wipro Ltd. Rishad is also a board member of Wipro Enterprises Ltd, which comprises the $850 million consumer care and lighting business and the $350 million engineering business.

The elder son of Azim Premji is also a board member of the Wipro-GE joint venture, which is estimated to have revenues of $700 million. He is also on the board of the Azim Premji Foundation, India’s largest education-focused philanthropic organization.

“Wipro confirms that Rishad Premji, chief strategy officer and board member of Wipro Ltd and Wipro Enterprises Ltd, has joined the group executive council,” a company spokesman said in an email response to a questionnaire sent by Mint. “The group executive council carries the charter of providing thought leadership and strategizing the long-term vision of the Wipro Group. Rishad joined the GEC post his induction onto the Wipro Ltd board.”

Wipro also brought Milan Rao, the recently appointed chief of the Wipro-GE healthcare unit, to join the GEC.

The GEC is now an 11-member panel, comprising Azim Premji, the IT firm’s chief executive T.K. Kurien, chief operating officer Abid Ali Neemuchwala, presidents Anand Padmanabhan, G.K. Prasanna and Bhanumurthy B.M., Wipro Infrastructure Engineering head Pratik Kumar, consumer care business chief Vineet Agrawal and chief sustainability officer Anurag Behar.

Rishad Premji, who joined Wipro in 2007 and until last year was head of strategy at Wipro, was first tasked with additional responsibilities of also overseeing the technology office of the company.

In an interview earlier this month, Wipro’s chief technology officer K.R. Sanjiv said the company decided to merge the technology office with the strategy office earlier this year as technology is core to the future of any firm.

“The tipping point for merging the role of strategy with technology happened over what we have seen over the last year or so. It is becoming more technology-led,” said Sanjiv.

In April, Rishad Premji was also included as a member of the company’s 17-member executive council to assist Kurien in driving the company’s road map, including the technology needs of Wipro.

Rishad Premji, a Harvard Business School graduate, has played an instrumental role in helping Wipro build its presence in the social, mobile, analytics and cloud business. He also oversees Wipro’s $100 million corporate venture arm.