Wipro CEO Abidali Neemuchwala steps down

Wipro Limited on Friday said that its chief executive officer and managing director Abidali Z Neemuchwala has decided to step down due to family commitments.

The board has initiated a search to identify the next CEO. Neemuchwala will continue to hold the office as CEO and MD until a successor is appointed for a smooth transition and to ensure that business continues as usual, the software-services company said in a statement.

“We thank Abid (Neemuchwala) for his leadership and his contributions to Wipro. Over the last four years, Abid helped build a strong execution mindset, drove key acquisitions and scaled our digital business globally. We wish him the very best for the future,” said Rishad Premji, chairman, Wipro.

Last year in June, Neemuchwala was re-designated as CEO and MD effective July 31 from his earlier role as CEO and executive director of the IT firm.

“We have made considerable progress in our transformation journey, improved our delivery engine and institutionalised deeper client centricity. I thank Azim Premji, Rishad, our board of directors, my Wipro colleagues and customers for their support over the years,” Neemuchwala said in a statement.

In June 2019, Wipro announced top management changes with Rishad Premji taking over as the executive chairman of the IT-services company after his father Azim H. Premji steps down from the post. This is first time that the reins of a listed Indian IT company have been handed over to the second generation.

As of December 2019, the Premji family and promoter group holds 74.04% in Wipro Ltd.

Shares of Wipro were down 1.27% at ₹237.75 a piece during morning trade on the BSE on Friday, while the Sensex was marginally up by 0.19%.