Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte quits, Srinivas Pallia to take over

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of software services firm Wipro Limited, Thierry Delaporte, has resigned from his position effective April 6, as stated in a regulatory filing on Saturday. The Bengaluru-headquartered company has announced the appointment of Srinivas Pallia as the CEO and MD, effective immediately.

Pallia will be succeeding Delaporte, who, after leading a significant transformation at Wipro for the past four years, is stepping down to pursue interests outside of the workplace. Thierry was recruited from Capgemini to lead Wipro four years ago. During his time at Capgemini, he held various leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Group Executive Board.

On the other hand, Pallia is a Wipro veteran with over three decades of experience at the IT services firm. He most recently served as the CEO for Americas 1, Wipro's largest and fastest-growing strategic market. In this role, he oversaw various industry sectors, established their vision, and implemented growth strategies that led to increased market shares within those sectors. He is also a member of the Wipro Executive Board.

"He (Delaporte) will be relieved from the employment of the Company with effect from the close of business hours on May 31, 2024," Wipro stated in the announcement. Thierry’s resignation comes amidst quarters of underperformance, where Wipro has fallen behind its competitors. Reports suggest that Delaporte's decision comes in light of recent statements from Wipro's founder chairman, Azim Premji, expressing dissatisfaction with the direction the company is heading under the current leadership. Rishad Premji currently serves as Wipro's executive chairman.

Delaporte expressed optimism about his role and tenure. In his resignation letter, he mentioned that it was an "incredible honor" to have contributed to the growth and success of Wipro. He stated, "During my tenure as CEO and MD, we have witnessed a significant transformation within the company that has driven financial growth and positively impacted our associates, clients, and shareholders."

Wipro sues former CFO Jatin Dalal, senior executive Mohd Haque

Notably, Wipro has seen several top-level departures, even as Delaporte brought in more leaders from Capgemini. Last year alone, over 10 senior leadership members left the company, including chief growth officer Stephanie Trautman, chief financial officer Jatin Dalal, Chief Operations Officer Sanjeev Singh, Americas 2 CFO Nithin V Jaganmohan, India head Satya Easwaran, iDEAS business head Rajan Kohli, Vice President Gurvinder Sahni, Americas 1 CFO Kamini Shah, head of healthcare and medical devices unit Mohd Haque, and head of the manufacturing and hi-tech business unit Ashish Saxena.

As of its Q3FY24 earnings, the Azim Premji promoted firm reported a 12% year-on-year (YoY) decline in profit for the fourth consecutive quarter, amounting to Rs 2,694 crore. The company also adjusted its revenue growth guidance for the fourth quarter, revising it from -1.5% to 0.5%. This adjustment followed a previous guidance cut from -3.5% to -1.5% in the previous quarter.