- Wipro chairman Azim Premji to retire next month, things to know about ‘India’s Bill Gates’ An era is ending at Wipro. Azim Premji, who transformed the cooking oil company his father started in 1945 into a $25 billion (Rs 1.8 lakh crore) global IT powerhouse Wipro, will retire as executive chairman next month (July). Premji has led Wipro for almost 53 years. He will turn 74 on July 24, having taken over the company after his father’s death in 1966. Here are some facts about Azim Premji, often described as India’s Bill Gates
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Azim Premji is currently India’s second-richest man (after Mukesh Ambani). As per Forbes Billionaires 2019 list, his wealth stood at $22.6 billion. - The Premji family owns 74.3% of the shares in Wipro.
- Dropped out of Stanford University Premji dropped out of Stanford with a semester left to return to India after the sudden demise of his father, in 1966. He joined his father’s company — Western Indian Vegetable Product
- Premji finished his degree — a BSE in electrical engineering — about 10 years ago.
- Premji has pledged 67% of Wipro shares to charity In March this year, Premji announced an increase in his philantrophic commitment by Rs 52,750 crore, taking the overall commitment to Rs 145,000 crore (67% of Wipro shares).
- Premji is the first Indian to sign Bill Gates and Warren Buffet’s ‘Giving Pledge’ to donate 50% of his wealth His foundation — Azim Premji Foundation — is one of the biggest in the world. Premji started this not-for-profit organization in the year 2001, he has so far donated $21 billion to the foundation.
- Premji holds late JRD Tata as his icon. He wrote in an article that what he “really admired in JRD was his ability to manage a very complex business portfolio with a rare clarity of mind.” Another quality I admired in him was “his obsession with quality,” Premji added.
- I am inspired by Azim Premji wrote Bill Gates Earlier this year, Microsoft co-founder and the world’s second-richest man praised Premji in a tweet and said that he is inspired by him. “I’m inspired by Azim Premji’s continued commitment to philanthropy. His latest contribution will make a tremendous impact,” Bill Gates tweeted.
- Wipro got its name in 1977 In 1977, Premji renamed ‘Western Indian Vegetable Products’ company to Wipro. He ventured into computers in 1977, almost same time when IBM left the Indian market. Wipro entered IT services business in 1982.
- Premji will continue to serve on the Wipro Board Premji will continue to be part of Wipro Board as non-executive director and founder chairman. He will also remain the chairman of Wipro Enterprises, the $2 billion entity that focuses on FMCG (with products like Santoor soap and Smartlite bulbs), and infrastructure engineering. He will also continue to chair the board of the medical devices joint venture, Wipro-GE Healthcare.
Wipro chairman Azim Premji to retire next month, things to know about ‘India’s Bill Gates’
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