I was 21 and had spent the last few years in Stanford University Engineering School at California. Many people advised me to take up a nice, cushy job rather than face the challenges of running a hydrogenated oil business. Looking back, I am glad I decided to take charge instead. Essentially leadership begins from within. It is a small voice that tells you where to go when you feel lost. If you believe in that voice, you believe in yourself. -Azim Premji
Indian Business tycoon, investor, philanthropist and a chairman of Wipro Limited, Azim Premji is a generous billionaire and first person in India who has signed The Giving Pledge. A graduate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, he has been at the helm of Wipro Limited since the late 1960s, turning what was then a $2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company into close to $8.5 billion Revenue IT, BPO and R&D Services organization with a presence in 58 countries. Asiaweek voted him as the 20 most powerful men in the world in 2010 and he was listed twice among the 100 most influential people by the Time Magazine. He is the India's third largest outsourcer.
After his father’s demise in 1966 he gave up his studies at Stanford to look after the family's cooking oil Sunflower Vanaspati business. Their family company Western Indian Vegetable Products which dealt in hydrogenated oil manufacturing was later diversified by Premji into bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hare care soaps, lighting products etc. In 1980s, he recognised the importance of the emerging IT field and took advantage of the vacuum left behind by the expulsion of IBM from India and changed the name to Wipro. His entry in the technology sector was by manufacturing minicomputers in collaboration with an American Company Sentinel Computer Corporation.
Despite all his great achievements he is known for his modest lifestyle and humane personality. Premji has been driven by one fundamental business idea – to build an organization deeply committed to Values with the Client as the focus of all efforts. Unflinching commitment to Values continues to remain at the core of Wipro. Premji strongly believes that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things when organized into highly charged teams
In the Silicon Valley, Wipro has an innovation centre which develops new technologies and collaborates with startups. In September 2018, Wipro won a landmark $1.6 billion, 10 year contract from Alight Solutions of Illinois.
Wipro’s success has been driven by its cutting-edge expertise in technology and understanding of global industries, which deliver real business value to its clients innovatively and consistently. This innovation and consistency is driven by its pioneering efforts in technology, service quality and predictability. Other companies of the Wipro group led by Premji, have revenues of close to $2 billion, spanning successful businesses across consumer goods, precision engineering and healthcare systems.
Azim Premji avery generous philanthropist contributed a large amount of his wealth in the establishment of the Azim Premji Foundation which is a nonprofit organisation that focuses on the children's education and improvements in them. With a vision of enhancing quality and equity in the public school education system in India and to build a better society, the Foundation works in 7 states of India which have over 350,000 schools. It also runs the Azim Premji University, which is focused on teaching and research programs in Education and other areas of Human Development. Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives supports not-forprofits, through financial grants, which work in areas of human development complementing education, such as nutrition, local governance, and well-being of vulnerable groups. Premji’s donations to the endowment of the Foundation, at USD 15 Billion, make it one of the largest Foundations in the world.
Premji firmly believes that businesses have a deep responsibility to employ ethical, fair and ecologically sensitive business practices, and also to actively engage with fundamental societal issues. Wipro’s deep and focused social and environmental initiatives span the countries across its operational footprint, leading to Wipro being recognized as a global leader in Sustainability.
Over the years, Azim Premji has received numerous honors and accolades, which he considers as recognitions for the team of Wipro and the Foundation. BusinessWeek listed him amongst the top 30 entrepreneurs in world history. Financial Times, Time, Fortune and Forbes have all named him as of one the most influential people in the world, citing his leadership in business and philanthropy, including the contributions to improving public education. The Journal of Foreign Policy has listed him amongst the top global thinkers. Economic Times bestowed Mr. Premji with the Life Time Achievement Award.
Premji is the first Indian recipient of the Faraday Medal and has been conferred with honorary doctorates by the Michigan State University and Wesleyan University and the Indian Institutes of Technology at Bombay, Roorkee and Kharagpur amongst others. The Republic of France has conferred upon him their highest civilian award, “Knight of the Legion of Honor”. He was conferred in January 2011 with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India. The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy was bestowed on him in 2017, hailing the “conscience, integrity, and compassion that have guided his visionary giving (with) invaluable benefit to both that nation and to the world.”
Several awards and honours are attributed to him are: