Rishad Premji becomes new Nasscom chief at Indian IT's most testing time

In February this year, Rishad Premji, then vice-chairman of the IT industry body Nasscom, moderated a session on “mental illness and how to make it a boardroom priority” at a Leadership Forum in Hyderabad.

The person he personally invited to the show was actor Deepika Padukone, who has publicly spoken about her mental breakdown in the past. At the time Padukone was unwittingly at the centre of a national storm for her lead role in Padmavat, the movie that was embroiled in an absurd controversy involving identity politics. It is to Premji’s credit that he did not mention the dispute even once during his interview with Padukone. Instead, he focused on the urgent need for an industry that employs millions of young people to tackle mental illness, pointing out that Padukone was best placed to explain the experience. The sensitivity and eloquence with which he handled the discussion drew enthusiastic responses from the audience and displayed one facet of his leadership style.

As he shoulders the larger responsibility as the chairman of Nasscom, Premji, 41, is well aware that the ambit of his responsibilities have widened considerably, with the stakeholders ranging from Indian IT/BPO services companies, global captives in India, internet and ecommerce companies as well start-ups.  

As an industry body, Premji says, Nasscom owes its existence to its members, and his foremost priorities would be to continue to provide them with the right kinds of support and services so that they continue to grow and prosper. The challenge is certainly unique. As he points out, “One of the things about Nasscom is that you have companies that compete fiercely but also collaborate fiercely for the betterment of the industry, for the betterment of the opportunity that exists for all of us collectively.”

Back in 2007, when Rishad Premji joined Wipro, it was his father Azim Premji’s conscious decision his son’s entry be similar to that of any other employee. He did the rounds of interviews, reporting to somebody who did not even report directly to the CEO. This is, of course, standard practice in American family-held businesses — the mailroom being the famous starting point — but almost unheard of among Indian inheritors.

At least part of the decision was driven by the son’s need to learn the business from bottom up. He had a master’s degree from Harvard Business School with almost six years of work experience with global companies like GE Capital and Bain & Co, but perhaps this was not enough for his start at the top. So he learnt the business bit by bit on the go, slowly moving up the ladder to become a general manager in charge of investor relation to Chief Strategy Officer and eventually a Wipro board member in 2015.

Illustration: Ajay Mohanty

Although it is clear that Rishad Premji will succeed his father as chairman of the board, the founder-promoter, who owns 74.33 per cent (as of 31 December, 2017) of the Bengaluru-based IT major, has made it clear that he wants the company to be led by professionals, and has so far kept to that plan.

In his 11 years with Wipro, his son has worked in the pure consulting side of the business, investors relations, government relations, strategy and Merger & Acquisitions (M&As). He was also instrumental in setting up the corporate venture arm, Wipro Ventures with a corpus of $100 million, which has already made 13 strategic investments in early to mid-stage start-ups in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Analytics, Internet of Things, Security and Cloud Infrastructure.  

His journey through Nasscom followed a similar trajectory. He joined as an executive committee member representing Wipro, and then slowly moved up the ladder from vice-chairman last year to chairman this year — he took charge on Tuesday — a recognition of his leadership in a larger industry platform. 

“Rishad is an experienced leader whose accomplishments speak for themselves. With his unique exposure and new age energy, he is uniquely qualified to help lead the industry in a time of change and opportunity,” says Debjani Ghosh, president of Nasscom.

“He has the right education, right pedigree, and he had very good work exposure before joining Wipro,” said a former senior Wipro executive, requesting anonymity.

A powerful and inspirational father has been a help, of course, but the younger Premji is keen to emphasise the fact that he is his own man. His decision to join Wipro, he says, was his own, born out of a desire to come back to India after spending nearly 12 years studying and working overseas.

“It was a personal decision and I came to Wipro like any other employee. I was interviewed by Girish [Girish Paranjpe, then joint CEO of Wipro] when he was in London,” he says. Recalling his decision, he added, “I approached it like the way I am approaching any other new job — you evaluate the pros and cons of the job.”

“He is a thorough professional, bright, balanced and objective with a sense of strong work ethics like Mr Premji,” said a former Wipro top executive who was the son’s reporting manager.

No doubt, his one-year stint at the industry body will also offer him an opportunity to prove his leadership capabilities on a wider and very different platform — just as tightening visa laws are raising the stakes for Indian IT firms like never before.

Like his father, the younger Premji is consciously low profile both in his professional and personal life. He ensures that he spends quality time with his children, daughter Rhea and son Rohaan. His interests, though, are fairly conventional: movies (preferably in a theatre rather than at home), cricket and Indian, not western, food.