Azim Premji
After graduating from school, he began studying engineering at Stanford University in the USA, but was unable to complete it. In 1966, when Azim Premji was 21 years old, his father died and he had to return to India to take over the management of his father's company "Wipro". The executives of Wipro did not believe that the young man had the necessary entrepreneurial skills and advised him to sell his shares, which only gave Azim Premji even more motivation to succeed. Under his leadership, Wipro grew from an edible oil manufacturer valued at $1.4 million to India's largest software company valued at approximately $2.3 billion.
The change came in the early 1970s. Azim Premji recognized the skills and potential of Indian programmers and engineers early on. At that time, India wanted to become independent of foreign electronic products and thus offered Wipro opportunities for expansion. The company, based in Bangalore, dedicated itself to the production of microchips. Later, entire computers, scanners and printers were built. As cheaper foreign products reclaimed the Indian market, Azim Premji had to act and conquer a new territory. With its skilled programmers and IT specialists, "Wipro" now offered Western companies IT services at low prices and was thus a pioneer of the Indian "outsourcing miracle".
According to Business Week, Wipro is now one of the top 100 technology companies worldwide. Azim Premji has been honored several times for his entrepreneurial achievements, including "Business Man of the Year" (2000) and honorary doctorates from the "Indian Institute of Technology" and the "Manipal Academy of Higher Education". In 2005, the Financial Times named him one of the 25 most influential people in the world. In 2001 he founded the "Azim Premji Foundation" to enable qualified education for disadvantaged children. The foundation is working with the Indian government on a model to make the school system more effective. The funds for the realization come largely from Premji's private assets, which Forbes estimated in 2005 at around USD 9.3 billion.
Azim Premji is married and has two children.
The change came in the early 1970s. Azim Premji recognized the skills and potential of Indian programmers and engineers early on. At that time, India wanted to become independent of foreign electronic products and thus offered Wipro opportunities for expansion. The company, based in Bangalore, dedicated itself to the production of microchips. Later, entire computers, scanners and printers were built. As cheaper foreign products reclaimed the Indian market, Azim Premji had to act and conquer a new territory. With its skilled programmers and IT specialists, "Wipro" now offered Western companies IT services at low prices and was thus a pioneer of the Indian "outsourcing miracle".
According to Business Week, Wipro is now one of the top 100 technology companies worldwide. Azim Premji has been honored several times for his entrepreneurial achievements, including "Business Man of the Year" (2000) and honorary doctorates from the "Indian Institute of Technology" and the "Manipal Academy of Higher Education". In 2005, the Financial Times named him one of the 25 most influential people in the world. In 2001 he founded the "Azim Premji Foundation" to enable qualified education for disadvantaged children. The foundation is working with the Indian government on a model to make the school system more effective. The funds for the realization come largely from Premji's private assets, which Forbes estimated in 2005 at around USD 9.3 billion.
Azim Premji is married and has two children.