Wipro CEO Abidali Neemuchwala steps down

BENGALURU: Wipro chief executive Abidali Neemuchwala is leaving the company after four years at the helm, a period when the Bengaluru-based IT services provider lagged rivals and lost the tag of the third-largest software exporter to HCL Technologies.

Wipro said that Neemuchwala had resigned due to family commitments. The Wipro Board’s Nomination and Remuneration committee — William A Owens, MK Sharma and Ireena Vittal – have begun a search for an external candidate, a company spokesperson said. Neemuchwala will continue to head the company till it finds a successor. His term at Wipro was to end in January 2021. His employment contract includes a 180-day notice period, Wipro said in regulatory filings “Over the last four years, Abid has put in place a robust strategy, helped drive some key acquisitions, built a strong execution mindset and scaled our digital business globally,” Wipro chairman Rishad Premji told employees in an email. Premji, son of the founder Azim Premji who has held several roles and was on the company’s board, took over as Chairman of Wipro in July.

Neemuchwala had then been given additional charge as managing director.


Neemuchwala joined Wipro from larger rival Tata Consultancy Services – where he led its back-office arm’s push towards automation – in April 2015 as group president and chief operating officer. He was elevated as CEO in February 2016.

Wipro, among the earliest companies to ride the outsourcing wave, has lagged larger peers for nearly a decade, a period which saw four top executives at the helm.

The Texas-based Neemuchwala has had a challenging time at Wipro. He has struggled with acquisitions, client bankruptcies and restructuring of businesses in India and West Asia over the last four years.

At the same time, he had also stepped up focus on local hiring in the United States and invested in digital and automation to arrest the slowdown in traditional businesses. Yet, the firm has grown at nearly half the pace of its larger peers. It is also reflected in how the investors have looked at the company.

Wipro’s stock rose 13% during his tenure, compared to Infosys’s 33% and TCS’s 78% jump over the same period, according to Bloomberg data. Wipro shares closed about 2% lower at ?236.50 on the NSE on Friday.

Industry experts, however, said Neemuchwala had built a strong foundation for his successor to take forward.

“Abid has built a strong foundation of financial performance and put in place strong digital assets on which the new CEO will build. I expect the new CEO will focus on accelerating growth and regaining Wipro’s place as a leading growth IT firm,” said Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of IT advisory firm Everest Research.

Wipro has brought in talent from outside over the last few years, but also has potential internal candidates for the top spot, analysts said.

“New leaders will emerge among stable. They’ve had a good hires in Harish Dwarkanhalli, Milan Rao.