Meet Rishad Premji, the man leading Wipro with over Rs 500 crore in shares and a Rs 258077 crore market cap; Know about his journey, family, and more

The Wipro Board has approved the reappointment of Azim Premji as a non-executive, non-independent director and his son Rishad Premji as a whole-time director, who will serve as executive chairman. These roles are set for a five-year term from 31 July 2024 to 30 July 2029.

“The Seventy Eighth Annual General Meeting of Wipro Limited will be held on Thursday, 18 July 2024 … to consider the appointment of a director in place of Azim H Premji who retires by rotation and being eligible, offers himself for reappointment … and re-appointment of Rishad A Premji as a whole-time director of the company,” the filing stated, according to NDTV.

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Earlier this year, Azim Premji, with a net worth of $11.8 billion (Rs 98621 crore), gifted Rishad and his brother Tariq Rs 1 crore shares each, valued at approximately Rs 500 crore. These shares, representing 0.20% of Wipro’s share capital, increased each son’s stake by 0.10%, as reported by The Economic Times.

Despite this significant shareholding, Rishad withheld his commission for the second consecutive year due to a negative incremental consolidated net profit for the year. Consequently, his total compensation for FY 2024 was reduced by 20% to $769,456 (Rs 6.41 crore) from the previous year’s $951,353 (Rs 7.9 crore), with his salary decreasing to $692,641 (Rs 5.7 crore) from $861,000 (Rs 7.1 crore), according to MoneyControl.

With the reappointment, the board has approved a remuneration range of Rs 5 crore to Rs 12 crore for Rishad Premji, an increase of 11% to 33% from the previous five-year cycle, NDTV reports. Here’s an overview of the current and future Wipro Executive Chairman.

Early Life

Born on 9 January 1977, Rishad Premji is the elder son of Azim and philanthropist Yasmine Premji. He attended Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, earned a B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2014, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, according to Wipro’s official website.

Career

Before joining Wipro as a business manager in 2007, Rishad worked with Bain & Company in London and GE Capital in the US. He served as the Chairman of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) from 2018 to 2019. He became Wipro’s Chief Strategy Officer in 2011 and was promoted to Chairman in 2019.

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Personal Life

In 2005, Rishad married his childhood friend Aditi. They have a daughter, Rhea, and a son, Rohaan. The family resides in Epsilon, Bengaluru’s most exclusive gated community, home to other prominent businessmen such as Byju’s co-founder Byju Raveendran and Britannia’s Managing Director Varun Berry.

Compensation

Rishad’s total compensation for FY 2024 was Rs 6.41 crore due to a pay cut. This amount is expected to increase in the next cycle, according to NDTV. The Premji family’s net worth is $19.2 billion (Rs 160473 crore), making them one of India’s wealthiest families, Forbes reports.