Wipro's slide, CEO performance upset founder Premji

Wipro Ltd’s founder chairman Azim Premji has expressed displeasure about the way the country’s fourth-largest information technology services company is being steered to executive chairman Rishad Premji and chief executive Thierry Delaporte, four people aware of the development said.

- Varun Sood

Significantly, it is not Wipro’s underperformance in the last six quarters alone that has made Azim Premji unhappy. The Bengaluru-based company does not expect any incremental growth at least until June of next year, according to its current order book and internal hiring estimates, a Wipro finance executive said.

Wipro, which only gives quarterly revenue guidance, expects revenue to fall up to 3.5% in the October-December period. This will imply its revenue in the October-December period will be almost the same as it was in the October-December period of 2021.

Premji, 78, is unhappy given that Wipro’s turnaround has been hobbled by sweeping cultural changes, falling growth and profitability, a steady stream of exits and underperforming stock, the people said on the condition of anonymity.

Mint could not independently ascertain the nature of the discussions between Premji and Rishad that remain private: No executive accompanies the father and son during the lunch meetings at the modest Premji home, which is next door to Wipro’s office in the south-east edge of Bengaluru’s Sarjapur.