Narayan AmmachchiFormer Capgemini executive Thierry Delaporte has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wipro Technologies, replacing Abidali Neemuchwala, who left the company in June citing personal reasons.
Fifty two-years-old Delaporte is the first foreigner to shoulder the task of running an Indian firm with extensive global operations.
Although Wipro is headquartered in Bangalore, India, Delaporte will run the company from his base in Paris. Wipro has reportedly agreed to pay him around US$5 million in annual salary, the biggest pay package by Indian standards.
Despite having many deep-pocketed clients, Wipro is lagging behind many of its Indian peers in terms of growth rate. In 2019, HCL Technologies replaced it as the country’s third largest IT provider. Moreover, Wipro has seen four chief executives, and two Joint CEOs, in the past decade.
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc in the global economy, IT services providers are likely to see their revenue drop in the months to come.
“Despite the immediate challenges, I have no doubt that we will emerge stronger. We must strive for improvement in all spheres and aim to achieve industry leading growth,” Delaporte said in his first email addressed to the company’s employees.
Delaporte is neither new to India nor to the country’s IT services providers. He oversaw Capgemini’s India operations for a few years and played a key role in merging iGATE, an Indian IT outsourcing firm, with the Paris-based IT consultant.
“Thierry has an exceptional leadership track record, strong international exposure, deep strategic expertise, a unique ability to forge long-standing client relationships, and proven experience of driving transformation and managing technological disruption,” stated Rishad Premji, Wipro’s current chairman.
Add comment