Wipro’s CEO switch was not about its share price

Shareholder value data does not explain the firm's change on top. In a flux-filled field like infotech, business performance counts for more and Wipro's challenge still seems quite steep

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Top leadership exits, especially if they are abrupt, tend to worry shareholders. In Wipro Ltd's case, however, minority investors seem to have taken Thierry Delaporte's departure as CEO over the weekend, 15 months before his tenure ends, in their stride. The IT major's stock dropped on Monday, but by barely 1%. That reaction suggests little anxiety over its future. Srinivas Pallia, a three-decade Wipro veteran, has taken charge. By the classic public yardstick of any CEO's appraisal, shareholder value, Delaporte's exit would look puzzling. Since he took over as CEO on 6 July 2020, Wipro's shares have climbed about 116%. In comparison, those of TCS rose 81% and of Infosys 94% over the same period. So in terms of enriching owners, Wipro's former chief appears to have done well, although shareholders of HCL Technologies saw even bigger gains (of about 166%). Market value, however, is not the only way owners judge how a company is being run. In this case, just over a quarter of Wipro's shares float freely, with Az