BS People: Vyomesh Joshi

Wipro's board shines with Joshi's inclusion

The appointment of Vyomesh Joshi on Wipro’s board of directors has not only strengthened its board, but also given the Bangalore-based company access to someone who was once tipped to head a global technology giant like Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Joshi, who retired from HP earlier this year after over three decades, is known as one of the visionaries in the world of technology. His focus on research and development (R&D) is also well known in the industry. As the executive vice-president responsible for HP’s imaging and printing group, ‘VJ’, as Joshi was known within the company, is said to have made an arrangement with the then-CEO, Mark H Hurd, to reinvest a greater percentage of his group’s profit into the business.

Joshi was also a director at Yahoo! Inc for over five years until May 13 this year. With his inclusion, Wipro’s 13-member board now has 10 independent directors.

Born and raised in Ahmedabad, Joshi joined HP in 1980 as an R&D engineer for pen plotters (the precursors to inkjet printers) after finishing his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Ohio State University, US. As the head of HP’s imaging and printing division, he was instrumental in growing the business from about $19 billion in 2002 to over $26 billion when he retired. Joshi is said to be a follower of Swaminarayan and has even introduced many of his colleagues at HP to the sect.