Wipro ropes in former Bell Labs exec Ennis as board member

Country's third-largest software services firm Wipro today said it has appointed technologist and venture capitalist, Patrick J Ennis as an independent director to its board.
Ennis' appointment is effective, April 1.
The move will help bolster the company's focus on ramping up its investments in startups and disruptive technologies.
At present, he is the Global Head of Technology at Intellectual Ventures, a privately-held invention capital company, where he invests in innovation and technology commercialisation.
Ennis is part of the senior team that builds and runs an international open innovation network consisting of an invention community of more than 10,000 members.

Previously, he was the Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners, where he funded and built startups in a wide range of markets and technologies.

Earlier in his career, he has worked at AT&T, Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies and has served on several corporate, educational and non-profit boards.
"He brings in a unique combination of scientific curiosity, an in-depth understanding of the startup ecosystem and business insights. I am confident Wipro will immensely benefit from his wide experience," Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said in a statement.
Ennis will serve as an independent member on the board and will bring a wealth of experience to Wipro, having spent over 25 years as an educator, inventor, scientist and venture capitalist, it said.

The appointment is an important one for Wipro, which is looking at increasing its revenues and competing more aggressively against larger rivals like TCS and Infosys.
Under the strategy head and Azim Premji's son Rishad, the company had set up a USD 100-million venture capital unit to invest in new technologies like open source, big data and analytics, artificial intelligence, digital, Internet of Things and security.