Entrepreneurship Development

Presentation on Mr. Azim Premji

By : Leandre Gomes
Basic Details

 Azim Premji, in full Azim Hasham Premji was born in  Bombay [now

Mumbai], India on July 24, 1945.

 Azim Premji is an Indian business tycoon, investor, engineer, and philanthropist, who was

the chairman of Wipro Limited. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and
founder chairman. He is informally known as the “Czar” of the Indian IT Industry.
 He is responsible for guiding the company through four decades of diversification and
growth to emerge as a world leader in the software industry.
 By the start of the 21st century, Azim Premji had become one of the world’s wealthiest
people.
 Family Background and History:

 Azim Premji was born in Bombay in a Muslim family with roots from Kutch, Gujarat.
 His father, Mohammed Hashem Premji was a well-renowned businessman and was titled as
“Rice King of Burma”.
 His father had founded Western Indian Vegetables Products LTD. which produced soaps
and cooking oils.
 In 1966, following the demise of his father, Mr. Azim Premji left his Bachelor’s degree
course in between and came back to take charge of this business.
 Later on, this company was renamed to Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited or
WIPRO LTD.
Education:

 Mr. Azim Premji has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Degree from Stanford
University which he completed in the year 1999.
Idea Generation:

 In 1980, Premji seized the opportunity to transform Wipro into an IT company when IBM
withdrew its business from India.
 Azim Premji broadened the vision of the company from oil manufacturing to a wide range
of products after the revolutionary changes due to the 1991 economic policy.
 Identifying the importance of the emerging IT field , He shifted the company’s focus from
soaps & oils to Computer hardware like Printers and Scanners.
 It was also among the first to experiment with offshore IT services.
 He carved a worldwide niche for himself after making WIPRO, one of the most massive
information technology consulting and outsourcing firms in the world.
Business Details:

 The Company was started as Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd. in 1945 by Mohamed
Premji, father of Azim Premji, as a manufacturer of hydrogenated cooking fats.
 After the demise of his father, Azim Premji became the chairman of Wipro at the young age
of 21. He expanded the company's product line to include hydraulic cylinders, soaps, and
lighting products, renaming the company Wipro in 1977.
 Wipro entered the IT space in 1980 after IBM had withdrawn from the country. The
company started with manufacturing microcomputers under a technology-sharing
agreement with U.S.-based Sentinel Computers. Later, it started providing software
solutions to complement its hardware operations.
Business Details:

 Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wipro continued to perform well, with IT
remaining its core business.
 It soon became a provider of IT Services, including Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
globally. The company provides comprehensive IT Solutions and Service to corporations
globally.
 Mr. Premji transformed Wipro under his leadership from a $2 million cooking fat company
into a conglomerate spanning multiple businesses that consistently generate billions of
dollars in revenue each year.
Entrepreneurial Qualities:

1.Self-Belief
2.Know your Strengths
3.Farsightedness
4. Initiative
5.Group efforts
6.Curiosity
Achievements

 Premji has been recognized by Business Week as one of the Greatest Entrepreneurs for being
responsible for Wipro emerging as one of the world's fastest growing companies.
 In 2005, the Government of India honored him with the title of Padma Bhushan for his
outstanding work in trade and commerce.
 In 2011, he has been awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award by the
Government of India.
 In April 2017, India Today magazine ranked him 9th in India's 50 Most powerful people of
2017 list.
Azim Premji’s Philanthropy

 One of the best things people remember about Premji is his philanthropic side.  Shortly
after taking over as CEO of Wipro, Premji started donating his funds to organizations and
people about whom he cared.
  Apart from being the first Indian to give away 25 % of his wealth as a part of the Global
Giving Pledge, Premji also set up a non profit organisation, Azim Premji Foundation, aimed
at improving primary education in India.  The trust helped set up a university in Bangalore
and works with the goal of improving the quality of education in India in a holistic way,
rather than only through financial support.
 Premji believes in giving back, thereby making sure everyone is given an opportunity to
make full use of their potential.