Azim Premji: My son Rishad won't be next Wipro CEO

BANGALORE, INDIA: Indian IT honcho, Azim Hashim Premji, has articulated clearly that his elder son, Rishad Premji, would not take over the reins of his company, Wipro, as its chief executive officer.

In a news channel interview from Davos, Switzerland, the Wipro chairman said that his son would, however, represent promoter ownership on the company's board.

"He (Rishad) is not going to be the chief executive officer, that's not the career plan for him, but he would be representing ownership obviously," he said on the sidelines of World Economic Forum.

Azim Premji, who is 67 years old, owns 3.7 per cent of Wipro shares directly and entities related to him hold about 74 per cent, while heir apparent Rishad has a direct ownership of 0.03 per cent.

After graduating from Harvard Business School, Rishad, 35, worked with Bain & Co, in verticals including consumer products, automobiles, telecom and insurance. In 2007, he joined Wipro as the business head for Special Projects (Banking and Financial Services) and was subsequently elevated as chief strategy officer in 2010.

It may be noted that news about Rishad's elevation to the top of the now demerged entity of Wipro that includes the non-IT businesses, has been doing the rounds for a while now.