CEO Pallia overhauls Wipro top management

As Srinivas Pallia takes on the mantle of bringing growth back to Wipro Ltd, he is relying on his trusted lieutenants to steer the ship. 

On 17 May, Amit Choudhary put in his papers as chief operating officer (COO) to pursue opportunities outside the organisation, as per Wipro’s release to stock exchanges. 

Choudhary’s exit marks the second such departure of former chief executive Thierry Delaporte’s three trusted men in the Bengaluru-based IT company’s executive committee, in less than two months of Pallia taking over as CEO. Ajit Mahale, who is the chief delivery officer (CDO) of the company is the only executive left in the committee who was brought in from Capgemini by Thierry when he joined as chief executive in July 2020.

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Sanjeev Jain joined Wipro as its global head of business operations in August 2023 and has expertise in workforce management, having worked with GE Capital for more than a decade in the capacity of the boss of its business process management services and global servicing division. 

Over the last year, Sanjeev’s expertise in supply chain management has prompted the top management to elevate him to the post. 

“In the short time that Sanjeev has been with Wipro, he has developed strong relationships with on-the-ground delivery teams and made a significant impact on our strategic thinking and execution prowess,” said Pallia, chief executive officer and managing director of Wipro. 

Along with the post of the COO, Jain will oversee the Global Business Operations, the Chief Information Office, the Chief Information Security Office, and the Enterprise Risk Management function and continue to work with Wipro’s leadership teams across the organisation. 

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Wipro has been in the midst of a leadership churn, even before CEO Pallia took over as chief executive on 6 April 2024. More than 750 senior executives ranked general manager and above have left the company since Thierry joined as chief executive.  

Jain assuming the COO’s position marks the third such entry of new CEO Pallia’s trusted generals to steer the Wipro ship to growth waters. The company was the only one out of the top four Indian IT companies to end the year with a revenue decline. The company reported $10.8 billion in revenue for the financial year ended March 2024, which is a 3.8% yearly decline. 

Choudhary was one of the three people to be brought in by Thierry from Capgemini, where the latter worked before his stint at Wipro. Mint could not independently ascertain if Jain will be inducted into the executive committee. 

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Wipro recently was in the news for the CEO and other top executives selling their shares. In a report dated 16 May, Mint reported on former CEO Thierry Delaporte selling shares worth ₹34.5 crore. Anis Chenchah, who was the CEO of its Asia Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa region, and Stephanie Trautman, who was the chief growth officer (CGO), also sold their shares following their resignation, earning money worth ₹45 crore collectively.