Wipro veteran Suresh Senapaty to join HCG board

BENGALURU: Wipro veteran Suresh Senapaty, who is set to retire next year, will be joining the board of cancer specialty hospital Health Care Global (HCG), two people familiar with the talks said last week.

Premji Invest, the family office of billionaire Wipro founder Azim Premji is among early investors in HCG, apart from Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Milestone Religare.

In 2010, Premji Invest had invested around $20 million in the company. Since then, HCG has grown to become India’s largest cancer specialty chain.

Founded in 2005 by BS Ajaikumar, a Chicago-based doctor who returned to India in 2003, HCG’s revenues are expected to be around Rs 500 crore, a person familiar with the company said.

While Ajaikumar declined to comment on the story, Senapaty had not responded to ET’s emails and text message seeking details. Senapaty, 57, will also continue to be a director on the board of Wipro Enterprises — the non-IT business that was carved out from Wipro Ltd last year.

People familiar with the discussions at HCG added that the company is looking to beef up its board with experienced leaders from the industry, as it plans to tap the public markets in an year’s time.

“HCG needs some financial and governance expertise at the top,” said a person familiar with the board members’ hunt. “Senapaty brings expertise in both managing growth, and complexity, and he’s also familiar with the company,” he added.