Wipro expands group executive council; inducts new COO, presidents

BENGALURU: Weeks after undertaking a massive organizational reshuffle, India’s third largest software exporter Wipro has expanded its highest executive decision making body, the Group Executive Council, and inducted newly-appointed chief operating officer Abid Ali Neemuchwala and company presidents Anand Padmanabhan, GK Prasanna and Bhanumurthy BM.

Existing members of the council include Wipro’s billionaire chairman Azim Premji, chief executive TK Kurien, Wipro Infra Engineering head Pratik Kumar, consumer care business head Vineet Agrawal, chief sustainability officer Anurag Behar and Wipro-GE Healthcare managing director Terri Bresenham.

On Friday, Premji also sent out an email to all employees, informing them about the 4 new executive additions to the council.

“The Group Executive Council carries the charter of providing thought leadership across the Wipro Group and is the driving force behind shaping its strategic priorities. These leaders bring with them a rich global experience and we are confident their induction will bring more plurality of ideas and add more heft to the deliberations of the Council,” chairman Azim Premji said in a statement.

Wipro is currently in the middle of its largest organizational overhaul in years.

The latest move to expand the executive council comes a few weeks after the company names Tata Consultancy Services veteran Neemuchwala as its COO and elevated company veterans Prasanna and Bhanumurthy as presidents. Over the past few weeks the company has also undertaken rejigs at some of its key businesses such as banking and financial services and its new digital business.

Padmanabhan, who heads the energy and utilities business that has consistently been one of Wipro’s top-performing verticals over the last few years, was elevated to the rank of president late last year.

Earlier this week, long-time finance chief and company veteran Suresh Senapaty retired from the company. Wipro's chief business officer and another TCS veteran Satishchandra Doreswamy resigned from the company, following the organizational reshuffle.