gaurav1987
Gaurav Garg
Age: 60
Net Worth: $ 11.0 billion
Hometown: Bangalore
Married, 2 Children
The story of how the Stanford-educated Premji transformed Wipro, his family's vegetable-oil business, into one of the India remost IT companies is already part of Indian business folklore. Azim Hashim Premji born on July 24, 1945 is a Bohra Muslim (Ismaili) by religion and is ethnically Gujarati. He has been on the Forbes' list of richest people in the world since 1999. In March 2006, Forbes estimated Premji’s net worth at $11 billion, making him the second-richest behind steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
Premji was just finishing his undergraduate engineering studies at Stanford University in 1966 at the age of 21 when he got word of his father’s sudden death and was called upon to handle the family vegetable oil business. Premji started off in Wipro with a simple Vision – to build an organization on a foundation of Values. Premji eventually sought—and got—permission to study arts courses by correspondence to complete the requirements for his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Although one of the richest Indians, he flies economy class and is happiest when hiking, reading or discussing the foundation he has set up to promote primary education.
The Awards
In 2000, he was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. He was also adjudged the Business Man of the Year 2000 by Business India. He is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for Information Technology in India. In 2000, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. In April 2004, he was rated among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. In 2005, Premji was awarded the Padma Bhushan.
Defining Moments
Recounting the most defining moment of his life in an interview to the BBC, Premji said, "it happened when I was 21-years- old. I was studying at Stanford University. My father suddenly died so I had to rush back to India and I attended the first annual general meeting of my company. A shareholder, who was articulate and vociferous, gave me sincere advice in front of all the shareholders. He said, 'Mr Premji, you should sell your shareholding and give it to more mature management because there is no way a person of your age with your experience can lead this company.' And that really made me more and more determined to make a success of Wipro."
Says Premji
"The time of stress is always a good time for companies to become more efficient."
"Wipro and its peers help US firms grow by keeping their costs low and raising their productivity."
IBM was “selling machines that had been obsolete in Western countries 10 years back.” on Indian government asking IBM to fold up in the late 1970s. (Source: stanfordalumni.org)
“Our experience typically with Indians who have been in the United States for 10 or 15 years is they become cultural misfits. If they haven’t become cultural misfits, their families have become cultural misfits for India, so we would be very hesitant to take back an Indian settled in America for 15 years into a senior position. But if you’re talking about people with less than seven, eight years, absolutely no problem-they’re starting their careers, they see the opportunity, the size of the campus. If you see people with strong family roots, they settle in well.” (Source: stanfordalumni.org)
"As you get bigger, you have to learn to delegate. It’s also an excellent way to get staff involved in the company’s operations."
"There are millions of children today who don’t attend school. However, education is the only way to get ahead in this country."
"Character is one factor that will guide all our actions and decisions. We invested in uncompromising integrity that helped us take difficult stands in some of the most difficult business situations."
Invaluable Tips
When Premji was honored with the Businessman of the Year 2000 award, he attributed his stupendous success to the 12,000 people who work for Wipro Corporation. The great man then shared some tips for success:
Have the courage to think big.
Never compromise on fundamental values, no matter what the situation.
Build up self-confidence, always look ahead.
Always have the best around you, even if they are better than you are.
Have an obsessive commitment to quality.
Play to win.
Leave the rest to the force beyond.
When will Azim Premji step down?
The one question that has gained prominence in the context of former Wipro vice chairman Vivek Paul’s departure is, how long does company chairman Azim Premji intend to stay at the top job? It transpires, it may be for as long as he wishes to.
Mr Premji told ET, “There is no fixed retirement age for the directors, as per our corporate governance guidelines.”
For employees at Wipro there are two retirement ages: 58 & 60. Last year Premji sought shareholders approval to stay chairman till July 2007, by which time he will be 61.
This perhaps explains why Mr Premji is in no hurry to bring in his children-especially elder son Rishad into the company. To queries on when he plans to induct Rishad into Wipro, Mr Premji says, “This question is asked only because people mix up ownership with management. These are two different dimensions.”
Rishad, who graduated from Harvard Business School this year, has earlier worked with GE and is set to join the London office of consulting firm Bain & Co. “He has done well for himself, I am happy as a parent,” says the proud father.
Premji’s younger son Tariq works with the Azim Premji Foundation that is primarily involved in primary education.
Premji further added Wipro has an annual succession planning process and “we have no plan which includes my children,” adding the company has many plans: succession, strategic, operational, IP development.
Hearsay
"Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus," a Bangalore tech manager was once quoted. "He monitors the number of toilet paper rolls used in Wipro facilities and demands that employees switch off the lights when leaving their offices; Premji himself makes random checks to see that the lights are out at the end of the day."
Premji often takes a three-wheeled autorickshaw from the Bangalore airport when returning from his travels.
There's another legend that Premji once preferred to face a tough, three-month strike rather than rehire an employee who had submitted fraudulent expense accounts. "The person said he was traveling in first class, when in fact he was traveling in second class and pocketing the difference," he recalls, "that was unacceptable."
Net Worth: $ 11.0 billion
Hometown: Bangalore
Married, 2 Children
The story of how the Stanford-educated Premji transformed Wipro, his family's vegetable-oil business, into one of the India remost IT companies is already part of Indian business folklore. Azim Hashim Premji born on July 24, 1945 is a Bohra Muslim (Ismaili) by religion and is ethnically Gujarati. He has been on the Forbes' list of richest people in the world since 1999. In March 2006, Forbes estimated Premji’s net worth at $11 billion, making him the second-richest behind steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
Premji was just finishing his undergraduate engineering studies at Stanford University in 1966 at the age of 21 when he got word of his father’s sudden death and was called upon to handle the family vegetable oil business. Premji started off in Wipro with a simple Vision – to build an organization on a foundation of Values. Premji eventually sought—and got—permission to study arts courses by correspondence to complete the requirements for his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Although one of the richest Indians, he flies economy class and is happiest when hiking, reading or discussing the foundation he has set up to promote primary education.
The Awards
In 2000, he was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. He was also adjudged the Business Man of the Year 2000 by Business India. He is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for Information Technology in India. In 2000, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. In April 2004, he was rated among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. In 2005, Premji was awarded the Padma Bhushan.
Defining Moments
Recounting the most defining moment of his life in an interview to the BBC, Premji said, "it happened when I was 21-years- old. I was studying at Stanford University. My father suddenly died so I had to rush back to India and I attended the first annual general meeting of my company. A shareholder, who was articulate and vociferous, gave me sincere advice in front of all the shareholders. He said, 'Mr Premji, you should sell your shareholding and give it to more mature management because there is no way a person of your age with your experience can lead this company.' And that really made me more and more determined to make a success of Wipro."
Says Premji
"The time of stress is always a good time for companies to become more efficient."
"Wipro and its peers help US firms grow by keeping their costs low and raising their productivity."
IBM was “selling machines that had been obsolete in Western countries 10 years back.” on Indian government asking IBM to fold up in the late 1970s. (Source: stanfordalumni.org)
“Our experience typically with Indians who have been in the United States for 10 or 15 years is they become cultural misfits. If they haven’t become cultural misfits, their families have become cultural misfits for India, so we would be very hesitant to take back an Indian settled in America for 15 years into a senior position. But if you’re talking about people with less than seven, eight years, absolutely no problem-they’re starting their careers, they see the opportunity, the size of the campus. If you see people with strong family roots, they settle in well.” (Source: stanfordalumni.org)
"As you get bigger, you have to learn to delegate. It’s also an excellent way to get staff involved in the company’s operations."
"There are millions of children today who don’t attend school. However, education is the only way to get ahead in this country."
"Character is one factor that will guide all our actions and decisions. We invested in uncompromising integrity that helped us take difficult stands in some of the most difficult business situations."
Invaluable Tips
When Premji was honored with the Businessman of the Year 2000 award, he attributed his stupendous success to the 12,000 people who work for Wipro Corporation. The great man then shared some tips for success:
Have the courage to think big.
Never compromise on fundamental values, no matter what the situation.
Build up self-confidence, always look ahead.
Always have the best around you, even if they are better than you are.
Have an obsessive commitment to quality.
Play to win.
Leave the rest to the force beyond.
When will Azim Premji step down?
The one question that has gained prominence in the context of former Wipro vice chairman Vivek Paul’s departure is, how long does company chairman Azim Premji intend to stay at the top job? It transpires, it may be for as long as he wishes to.
Mr Premji told ET, “There is no fixed retirement age for the directors, as per our corporate governance guidelines.”
For employees at Wipro there are two retirement ages: 58 & 60. Last year Premji sought shareholders approval to stay chairman till July 2007, by which time he will be 61.
This perhaps explains why Mr Premji is in no hurry to bring in his children-especially elder son Rishad into the company. To queries on when he plans to induct Rishad into Wipro, Mr Premji says, “This question is asked only because people mix up ownership with management. These are two different dimensions.”
Rishad, who graduated from Harvard Business School this year, has earlier worked with GE and is set to join the London office of consulting firm Bain & Co. “He has done well for himself, I am happy as a parent,” says the proud father.
Premji’s younger son Tariq works with the Azim Premji Foundation that is primarily involved in primary education.
Premji further added Wipro has an annual succession planning process and “we have no plan which includes my children,” adding the company has many plans: succession, strategic, operational, IP development.
Hearsay
"Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus," a Bangalore tech manager was once quoted. "He monitors the number of toilet paper rolls used in Wipro facilities and demands that employees switch off the lights when leaving their offices; Premji himself makes random checks to see that the lights are out at the end of the day."
Premji often takes a three-wheeled autorickshaw from the Bangalore airport when returning from his travels.
There's another legend that Premji once preferred to face a tough, three-month strike rather than rehire an employee who had submitted fraudulent expense accounts. "The person said he was traveling in first class, when in fact he was traveling in second class and pocketing the difference," he recalls, "that was unacceptable."