Wipro CEO Abidali Z Neemuchwala to step down, board scouts for successor

IT services major Wipro on Friday said its CEO Abidali Z Neemuchwala has decided to step down, and the company's board has started scouting for his successor.

Neemuchwala, 52, took over the additional role of managing director in July 31. His term as CEO was to end in 2021.

In a regulatory filing, Wipro said Neemuchwala has "decided to step down due to family commitments".

"The board of directors has initiated a search to identify the next CEO. Abid will continue to hold the office of CEO and MD until a successor is appointed for a smooth transition and to ensure that business continues as usual," it added.

Neemuchwala had joined Wipro in 2015 as Group President and Chief Operating Officer after a 23-year-long stint at Tata Consultancy Services.

"We thank Neemuchwala for his leadership and his contributions to the Wipro. Over the last four years, he helped build a strong execution mindset, drove key acquisitions and scaled our digital business globally," Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji said.

Neemuchwala said the company has made considerable progress in its transformation journey, improved its delivery engine and institutionalised deeper client centricity.

"lt has been my honour and privilege to serve Wipro, a company with a rich legacy of almost 75 years... I thank Azim Premji, Rishad, our board of directors, my Wipro colleagues and customers for their support over the years," he added.

Last year, Wipro had seen its founder Azim H Premji retire as executive chairman and handover reins of the firm to his son, Rishad.

Azim Premji will serve on the board as non-executive director till July 2024.

Wipro has been witnessing slow performance for the past few quarters. In the December quarter, Wipro posted a 2.17 per cent year-on-year dip in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,455.9 crore, while revenue grew 2.7 per cent to Rs 15,470.5 crore.

Neemuchwala had said the company was seeing a slowdown in growth rates in financial services due to continued softness driven by the macro-economic environment but had exuded confidence in winning new deals.

He had also cautioned against uncertainty due to the various geopolitical risks.