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This March <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Wipro">Wipro</a> appointed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Abid+Ali+Neemuchwala">Abid Ali Neemuchwala</a> as the Chief Operating Officer. He is also seen as successor to current CEO <keyword id="534477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TK-Kurien">TK Kurien</keyword>. However, this July <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=July+Kurien">Kurien</a> said, “my term is not coming up for renewal, it's ending and that's a theoretical ending." 
 
Neemuchwala recently spoke to the media, the first time after his appointment. 
 
You were a rising star at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=TCS">TCS</a> and people there still remember you fondly. It's been quite a journey for you over the past six months since you left <keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword>. And here at <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>, you are widely seen as the next guy to take over the top job. Do you have any ambitions on that front? 
 
(Laughs) Number one: the position is not vacant. We have a great leader in TK. The decision is not mine -- it is for the board to decide whenever that opportunity arrives. But for now I think I've got my role cut out as the chief operating officer to do some very exciting stuff which I'm busy doing. 
 
What have been some of your learnings from TCS that you are trying to replicate at Wipro? 
 
The thing that I would always say is that at CS I have learned leadership, I've learned working with bright people and I see the same bright people here and I have the opportunity to execute on my leadership.....I have developed a good connect here at Wipro, that is my style of engaging with people. I regularly blog within the organization and I get hundreds of responses. And that's a level of energy that gets created, that's the power of a 150,000 people that is delivering into the changes that we are bringing. 
 
How has it been interacting with Mr. Premji? Tell us a little about your first few interactions with Mr. Premji since you came on board. 
 
Of course, he (Premji) is a legend in the industry. Having the opportunity to work for him and with him is a sheer pleasure. Personality who is very caring, who is an epitome of corporate governance. In some of the interactions with him, there is hardly any operational discussions that I would have with him, but conversations around the industry, the people, around the strategy and the governance aspects are the ones that I enjoy having with him and there is a lot to learn, which I continue to learn. 
 
What is Mr. Premji's vision for Wipro over the next few years? 
 
I think it's part of the company's strategy -- so he's fully behind the articulated strategy. 
 
As far as talent is concerned, how big a challenge is it in terms of getting quality? We've heard most CEOs in the industry talking about the dearth of good talent here. 
 
Great question. The way Wipro is wired, we started when there was no talent in India. One of our competitive differentiation is the ability to absorb raw talent, train and transform. And we continue to do that. In fact, we're doing it more now than we were ever before. That has been our strength. Having said that, the need for talent transformation is much higher today -- some of the historic work that was happening is all getting automated. The kind of talent that is required in the digital era, you need Unicorns who understand the domain, the technology, the architecture, etc -- and some of us are doing it ourselves for that matter. Also, the intensity of the customer's domain and the ability to consult with the customer compared to just doing the job for the customer is changing significantly...for that we are training our people. We also know we don't have all the skills. So, we are doing some focused acquisitions. For example, our Designit acquisition. 
 
What are some of the gaps that you're trying to plug now through acquisitions, things that Wipro lacks at present? 
 
So, there are two areas -- one area is the creative side, the design side of things. That is one kind of talent we are bringing in. The other kind of talent from the technology side is people who are able to integrate solutions. Some of the hiring I've done myself is people who have experience of integrating solutions. Rather than delivering individual levers of those solutions. The third area is domain talent. Because domain consulting is becoming large. 
 
What are some of the big changes you have tried to effect since you took over? 
 
As you know I'm focusing on what we call 'run the business', the core of our business, along with the emerging markets, service lines, the delivery teams, the business operations -- clearly, as you've been following, there are opportunities for us to do better in terms of growth and in terms of the operating margins. So I think those will be the big signals -- everything else just flows through this. But I think there are opportunities for us to be able to respond faster to the market. So, I'm driving what I call 'Simplification' within the organization -- just enables us to be more responsive to our customers, to our employees, to our business partners, everybody. The second and more widespread change I'm bringing about is around the delivery realignment, which enables us to do a lot of things. It enables us to transform our talent as the industry is changing to become more relevant to customers, going into the future. It enables us to do better mining by making the right investments in the customers. Our per customer revenue has been lagging, account mining has been a challenge -- so that delivers towards that. The fourth change that I've brought about is creating an integrated services and solutions group with a team of experts. Historically Wipro has always been a very strong engineering organization and that has always worked well for us. One of the things that has also happened is by individual service lines -- now the future of the industry is about going to the customer and solving the customer's problems. Now if it takes five of your offerings or service lines or practices to come together to do it, you need to do it internally, in the back office. I say we are providing a complete meal service to our customer rather than saying I will serve you vegetable or daal. So this organization is mentoring a larger organization and helping them to transform, both in existing accounts where we can cross-sell better and in deals where we can shape the demand tuned more to the future of the industry. 
 
What are some of the areas where you are starting to see results, based on some of the steps you've taken since coming on board? 
 
It's too early right now because in the 130 days I've been here, the first 60 days I just absorbed and understood and initiated and some of the changes started going live from the first of August. So I think we should give it some more time. But I think the results expected are along the same lines that I talked about -- better cross-sell, better operational efficiencies, better engagement with clients in the newer technology areas, larger ticket sizes for our customers, etc. 
 
The last 5 years have been challenging for Wipro with lots of ups and downs and general lack of consistency. How do you see that changing? 
 
Without giving an exact timeline, some of the low hanging fruits should come in the short term. I think most of the foundational aspects that I'm putting in place would deliver results in the medium term. 
 
Industry-leading numbers? 
 
Both on the growth and the operating margins. 
 
Why has it been such a big challenge for Wipro to get any sort of momentum in performance? 
 
The hunting side of our business, acquiring new logos, new deals -- I think we're doing a phenomenal job. I think if you look at the construct of our business, there is less amount of annuity business that we have compared to some of our competitors. We have a higher amount of project business that gets over. So the incremental revenue and the deal wins that we have are in line with others in the industry. But the amount of refurbishment we have to do with our business because of our proportion of annuity business creates a higher need for new business for us compared to the industry. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Abid Ali
Neemuchwala: Azim Premji is behind Wipro’s articulated strategy

Wipro Chief Executive <keyword id="534477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="TK-Kurien">TK Kurien</keyword> received an impressive appraisal of 32% in 2014-15 and drew a package of around $ 1.5 million. In last financial year, Wipro performed marginally better as compared to previous years but the overall revenue growth fell short of industry-level growth rates. 
 
It is noteworthy that his pay package does not include earnings from the shares he holds in Wipro. 
 Coming to Wipro's billionaire chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword>, who next year will complete his 50th anniversary at the company that originally started out as a vegetable-oil maker, his package was $767,685 during the financial year ended March 2015. 
 
Economic Times reported the salary of Premji, who currently holds 73.39% of Wipro's total shares, includes a 0.3% commission on incremental net profits of Wipro during a typical financial year. 
 
"Azim H. Premji was paid a commission at the rate of 0.3% on incremental net profits of Wipro Ltd. over the previous year computed based on the method approved by the Board Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee and in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013," Wipro said in a regulatory filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 
 
ET reported that during the financial year ended March 2015, Kurien's total package stood at $1.46 million, including variable pay, bonus and other long-term compensation payouts, according to the filing. Wipro's former finance Suresh Senapaty, who retired earlier this year, took home a pay package of $541,561 during the year. 
 
Meanwhile, CEO of Infosys, Vishal Sikka, gets an annual pay package of $5.08 million, without stock options. ET in its report said that on a pro rata basis, Sikka made $741,433 during 2014-15. CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, N. Chandrasekaran, commanded a salary of nearly $3.15 million during 2013-14. 
 
CEOs of India's IT industry are among the best paid leaders across industries in the corporate sector over the past decade. 
 But, e-Commerce companies such as <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and Snapdeal, which receive funds from generous investors, are also now splurging heavily on hiring the creme-de-la-creme of talent and are paying out multi-million dollar packages to their top executives. 
 For instance, in March, two of <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword>'s engineering VPs - Piyush Ranjan and Punit Soni - relocated from the Bay Area to work with India's largest e-Commerce company Flipkart. Both are being paid Valley salaries too - $5-6 million annual packages. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

CEOs of Indian IT industry are leaders in pay packages also. See who earns how much

Bangalore-based IT firm <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> Ltd’s chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword> and CEO <keyword id="534477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="TK-Kurien">TK Kurien</keyword> received hefty raises in spite of the company lagging in growth during FY 2013-14. 
 
According to the former IT bellwether’s regulatory filling made on May 19 to the US Security and Exchange Commission, billionaire chairman Azim Premji's annual compensation, which includes salary and benefits, more than doubled to $1.71 million in fiscal 2012-2013, up from $733,827 in fiscal 2012-2013. 
 
Premji's pay doubled mainly on account of a boost in variable pay component. He also received an additional 0.3% commission, calculated on the firm's incremental net profits over the previous year. 
 
Wipro CEO TK Kurien's salary for the first time crossed the million-dollar mark. His compensation grew to $1.1 million by the end of March this year, from $888,228 in fiscal year 2012-2013. 
 
This reward to Kurien, who took over the job in 2011, is also a sign that the IT company continued to back his turnaround plans. 
 The reward given to Kurien comes days after <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> gave a good compensation to president BG Srinivas with a pay package of $1.28 million. Srinivas is widely seen as a top contender to become the company CEO after <keyword id="385878" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="SD-Shibulal">SD Shibulal</keyword> expressed his desire to step down in March 2015. 
 
The annual salaries of Premji and Kurien, however, do not include their dividend earnings from shareholding in Wipro.

Wipro’s Premji, Kurien Get Hefty Salary Hike

According to a media report, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> may appoint some vertical heads by the end of this year. The company has already made nearly a dozen changes at about 50 verticals since December 2013. It is likely to appoint new heads for product engineering services and global SAP practice, The Economic Times Reported. 
 "<keyword id="534477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TK-Kurien">TK Kurien</keyword> (Wipro’s chief executive) realises that vertical heads now have the most important role to execute our long-drawn work," said a head of a vertical at Wipro. However, a company spokesperson denied the report. "Wipro has no plans to announce any organizational restructuring and any such suggestion would be purely speculative," the spokesperson said. 
 Wipro's sequential quarterly revenue growth rate has not surpassed 3% since the July-September quarter of 2012. It registered a sequential growth of 1.8% in the second quarter of FY2014-15. While its rivals Infosys and <keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword> reported growth of 3.1% and 6.4%, respectively. 
 
Kurien had earlier said that the real measure of his success would be touching the growth of 4%.

Wipro May Appoint New Vertical Heads By December, Says
A Report; Company Denies It

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=T+K+Kurien&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">T K Kurien</a>, the Vice Chairman of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Wipro&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Wipro</a>, has decided to quit after nearly two decades of handling different roles in the company. Kurien will be leaving ahead of the end of his current tenure, which ends in March and the announcement is expected to be made at the company's third-quarter results. 
 
Kurien was to continue also as member of the board until March 31. It is still not clear what his plans are, after he leaves the company. He has invested in a few startups in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=artificial+intelligence&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) space and in mobile payments startup ToneTag. 
 Everyone around him called him a hardworker but despite the hard work and despite being the hard taskmaster that everybody in <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> said he was, Kurien struggled to make the company grow. Revenue growth was way short of those of its peers. He could never achieve his desire to demonstrate at least four successive quarters of 4%-4.5% sequential growth. 
 
"Previous Wipro CEOs had come up through the system, whereas TK had come up in other companies and was viewed as an outsider. One of the big challenges which TK inherited was that the other industry leaders had already made the changes to focus on industry, and TK was constantly playing catch up, having lost the first mover advantage that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=TCS&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">TCS</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Cognizant&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Cognizant</a> gained. His focus on moving quickly, and impatience to catch up created a backlash in the Wipro culture which he had to constantly deal with," Peter-Bendor Samuel, CEO of outsourcing research firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Everest+Group&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Everest Group</a>, told ET. 
 A chartered account by training, Kurien's penchant for numbers, cleaning up balance sheets, and bringing the GE-approach to operational efficiency was evident during his time with Wipro. This and his aggressiveness would have been what made chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword> pick Kurien for the CEO's job but for all that, Wipro under Kurien failed to catch up with its peers. Even its closest rival, <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword>, surged ahead under CEO Vishal Sikka

Wipro Vice Chairman T K Kurien to quit

Abid Ali Neemuchwala is named at the CEO of India's third largest software exporter <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Wipro-lands-in-soup-faces-1-2-mn-pound-discrimination-suit-by-an-ex-employee/articleshow/49257284.cms">Wipro</a>.
 

	Current CEO TK Kurien, who completes five years as CEO later in January, will become executive vice chairman effective February 1, Wipro said. TCS veteran and the current chief operating officer, Neemuchwala who has also been appointed as a board member will take over his new role on the same day.
 

	"Over the past five years, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Wipro-to-get-at-least-100-million-more-with-renewed-BP-contract/articleshow/49906330.cms">Wipro</a> has been transforming into a next generation technology and consulting company with defining differentiators in the marketplace," Azim Premji, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Number-of-crorepatis-is-rising-in-Wipro-Find-out-how/articleshow/47876772.cms">Wipro's billionaire</a> chairman told ET. "As Executive Vice Chairman, TK will enable Abid by leveraging his deep relationships with customers and chart out a new technology roadmap for Wipro." 
 

	Wipro said Kurien would continue to report to Premji and remain on the board till March 31, 2017.
 

	"In his nine months as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer, Abid has effortlessly assimilated into the culture and ethos of Wipro. The new structure will ensure smooth succession and will build on the solid foundation we have developed to drive superior growth and profitability. I wish both TK and Abid every success in their new roles," added Premji.
 

	"It is a privilege and an honour to be invited to lead Wipro, a company with a rich heritage of technology innovation and unflinching commitment to values. I am convinced that we are well positioned to seize new opportunities in today's marketplace. I look forward to working with the thousands of Wiproites to take our company to greater heights," said Neemuchwala in a statement.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Wipro appoints Abid Ali Neemuchwala as its new CEO

Much before the retirement of a <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword>, the chairman or the company’s board chalk out succession plan in order to save the company from the downfall. This is what India's third largest software firm <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> did. It appointed <keyword id="2067405" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Abid-Ali-Neemuchwala">Abid Ali Neemuchwala</keyword>, the former Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) BPO head, as its first ever chief operating officer (<keyword id="6423421" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="COO">COO</keyword>). The information was revealed in an Economic Times report. 
 
With this announcement, the process of succession planning begins at Wipro as TK Kurien’s five-year-term as CEO will expire the next year. 
 Abid Ali Neemuchwala, who is the former head of <keyword id="748094" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="TCS-BPO">TCS BPO</keyword>, and energy and utilities chief <keyword id="608152" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Anand-Padmanabhan">Anand Padmanabhan</keyword> were leading the race to be named Wipro's first COO. And Wipro picked Neemuchwala over Padmanabhan to lead the post. 
 
"Abid brings invaluable experience with his track record of building and scaling businesses. I am confident his deep understanding of technology and expertise in all facets of IT &amp; BPS businesses will help power our businesses to greater heights," Kurien told ET. 
 

	In his role, Abid will head the Service Lines of Global Infrastructure Services, Business Application Services, Business Process Services, and Advanced Technology Solutions. He will also head Business Operations; the geographies comprising Continental Europe, Africa, and LATAM; Strategic Engagements, Advisor Relationships as well as the Marketing function.
 
Earlier, another ET report had hinted at the creation of a COO position at the Bangalore-headquartered IT company to free up TK Kurien so that he could focus on technology vision and strategy. 
 Similar succession strategies were earlier adopted by other renowned IT firms. At the Mumbai-based TCS, N Chandrasekaran was appointed as the COO before he escalated to the post of CEO by replacing S Ramadorai. On the other hand at <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword>, S Gopalakrishnan replaced Nandan Nilekani to take over as CEO and SD Shibulal succeeded Gopalakrishnan, the leading business daily added. 
 
ET first reported on Monday that Wipro will begin a process to identify and groom a successor to chief executive TK Kurien later this year, with Neemuchwala being considered for the position of chief operating officer a long with other internal and external candidates. (Image: Wipro)

This is how Wipro is clearing the deck for its new heir

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=wipro&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Wipro</a> CEO Abidali Neemuchwala drew $ 1.8 million annual salary package, whereas Vice Chairman TK Kurien took home $2.1 million. 
 
Last year, Kurien received a salary package of $1.5 million. 
 
Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=azim+premji&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Azim Premji</a> took home $327,993 as annual package but this is minus the earnings from his shareholding. 
 Premji’s son and <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> strategy chief Rishad Premji drew $325,462. 
 Wipro, in its filing, stated that <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword> was paid a commission at the rate of 0.3% on incremental net profits of Wipro Limited over previous year until July 30, 2015 and at the rate of 0.5% on incremental net profits of Wipro Limited over previous year from July 31, 2015, computed based on the method approved by the Board Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee and in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. 
 
Apart from Neemuchwala, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=TCS&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran</a> got Rs 25.6 crore as annual package and Rs 10 crore more as a part of one-time special bonus. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Infosys-CEO-Vishal-Sikka-rakes-in-7-45-million-in-salary-this-year/articleshow/52348269.cms">Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka</a> now commands an annual package of $11 million.

Wipro’s Abidali Neemuchwala receives $1.8 million as salary

CEOs of India’s IT industry are considered among the best paid and their severance package have also started looking better but when compared to their US counterparts, Indians may be lagging behind. 
 
Francisco D'Souza of Cognizant is entitled to $24 million (Rs 154 crore) if his employment is terminated without cause, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 
 Likewise, Infosys’ <keyword id="6369763" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vishal-Sikka">Vishal Sikka</keyword> is entitled to severance pay that could go up to about $10 million. 
 
NR Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S Gopalakrishnan and SD Shibulal were uniformly entitled to just three months of severance pay if their employment was terminated without cause. 
 
Economic Times reported Sikka, in comparison, is entitled to 18 months of base pay that will be paid out over a period of 18 months, along with 18 times the liquidated payout in equal installments over a period of 18 months. 
 
Sikka currently earns about $900,000 in annual base pay and another $4.18 million in annual variable pay, and also is entitled to about $2 million of stock options. 
 
In an email, a TCS spokeswoman told the financial daily,“Despite burgeoning pay packages and severance clauses, some feel that CEOs in India do not have the kind of safety net that heads of US-based companies typically enjoy.” 
 
The former CEO of one of India's top software companies told ET that while the rules make it easier to hold the chief executive accountable for a company's performance, the company is not similarly accountable to protect the interests of its CEO. "In Indian companies, CEO contracts can often be relatively vague and they haven't changed at all over the last decade. While Indian companies have done great work on beefing up governance over the past 10 years, there is still a big gap in terms of protecting the rights of the CEO," this person told the financial daily on the condition of anonymity. 
 However, the <keyword id="2894473" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="severance-packages-of-CEOs">severance packages of CEOs</keyword> of US were different. 
 
Jack Welch made $417 million when he left General Electric, and Meg Whitman pocketed $120 million from eBay. Golden parachutes of US-based CEOs typically include cash severance, accelerated vesting on stock awards and interest on deferred compensation. 
 
ET stated that in India, since a number of companies typically appoint internal candidates as CEOs, their contracts are more often than not an extension of their existing employee contracts, which typically don't include the large severance packages enjoyed by their US counterparts. 
 In 2011, Wipro's <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword> decided to ditch the joint CEO-model and appointed TK Kurien as the company's new CEO. Wipro's joint CEOs Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe were given severance packages of about $1.55 million -- much lower than what US-based CEOs typically enjoy. 
 
The contrast is stark even within IT companies -- between CEOs based in India and those based overseas. 
 
N Chandrasekaran of TCS and TK Kurien of Wipro have severance packages that are a fraction of the size of those handed to US-based D'Souza and Sikka. Former HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar, however, told ET that in India contracts are trust-based and boards reward CEOs liberally. "Boards go out of the way to take care of successful CEOs by keeping them engaged and compensating them well," he said. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Indian IT CEOs are nowhere near their US counterparts when it comes to safety net

India's largest IT services company <keyword id="6357585" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Consultancy-Services">Tata Consultancy Services</keyword> (TCS) paid its Chief Executive Officer N Chandrasekaran Rs 21.28 crores in FY15. Chandrasekaran was the highest paid CEO in the <keyword id="13731" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="indian-IT">Indian IT</keyword> industry until <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> appointed <keyword id="6369763" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vishal-Sikka">Vishal Sikka</keyword> as its chief last year. 
 

	India's second largest software exporter Infosys paid Sikka Rs 30 crore for his first year in the company. 
	 

	Chandrasekaran got Rs 1.79 crore as salary, Rs 2.62 crores in perquisites, Rs 86 lakhs in other benefits and Rs 16 crore in commission - which is a percentage of the company's profit for the year. He was not issued any stock options in the last financial year. Meanwhile, TCS <keyword id="53346" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="CFO">CFO</keyword> <keyword id="283473" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajesh-Gopinath">Rajesh Gopinath</keyword> earned Rs 2.14 crores during the year. Chandrasekaran received a smaller bump in pay as compared to some other CEO's in the Indian IT industry, though the overall quantum of his hike is larger. <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> CEO TK Kurien saw his pay jump 32%, but he is still paid roughly half of the TCS CEO earns. US-listed <keyword id="28721" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cognizant">Cognizant</keyword>'s CEO outearns the rest of the industry if stock options are included. In 2014-2015, Francisco D'souza total package exceeded $11 million. 
	(Image: Indiatimes)

TCS CEO is the highest paid in Indian IT industry after Infosys’ Sikka

India's third-largest <keyword id="6363148" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="80" keywordseo="information-Technology">information technology</keyword> company <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> has tied up with software giant <keyword id="99699" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adobe">Adobe</keyword> for integrated marketing, commerce, analytics and customer experience solutions. Wipro is the first Indian IT company to enter into this level of partnership, the company said in a statement. 
 
The solutions created will help businesses to better understand customers and differentiate through targeted, relevant and consistent conversations across different devices and channels. 
 
"This partnership will help us jointly deliver next generation digital marketing solutions and enhance Wipro's leadership in helping enterprises build rich customer experiences, enable customer insights and bring products and services to the market faster," Wipro CEO and member of the board, TK Kurien, said. Moreover, Wipro has also launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Oracle-engineered solutions in Bangalore. 
 
This CoE will deliver futuristic systems by modernising application and data centre consolidation programmes for customers, especially in financial services, telecom, retail, utilities, manufacturing among others, it said.

Wipro
Ties Up With Adobe For Digital Marketing

If you thought number of crorepatis rose in Infosys only in 2014-15 financial year, here is some thought provoking input. 
 Its rival, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>, also saw a jump in number of people enjoying fat pay packages and the number of crorepatis almost doubled to around 70 in the past fiscal year, according to the company's latest annual report. 
 
Last year, 38 employees at Wipro got Rs 1 crore or more as salaries. 
 
Experts tracking executive pay told Economic Times the top Indian IT firms are sparing no expense to retain talent. 
 
During 2014-15, Infosys created the highest number of crorepatis as the number shot up to 113 from 18. 
 
Employees drawing an annual salary of over Rs 60 lakh at Wipro also saw a jump from 121 to 169. Most of the executives were either at the vice president or general manager level or above. 
 
Rishad Premji, Wipro's newly appointed board member, received a pay package of nearly Rs 1.7 crore during the 2014-15. 
Whereas, Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal’s pay package was Rs 2.5 crore. 
 
Meanwhile, Chief Executive TK Kurien's salary jumped 39% to Rs 9.1 crore . 
 
In his letter to shareholders in the company's annual report, chairman Premji said Wipro continued to contribute significantly towards philanthropy. 
 
"Over the past 15 years, I have tried to put this belief into action through my personal philanthropic work. Over these years I have irrevocably transferred a significant part of the shareholding in Wipro, amounting to 39% of the shares of Wipro, to a trust (of which ownership in 21.14% was transferred and for the balance the trust is entitled to beneficial interest of dividends and sale proceeds)," Premji wrote in the letter. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Number of crorepatis is rising in Wipro. Find out how

In a bid to address evolving customer needs in a rapidly changing technology landscape, India’s third largest software exporter, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>, overhauled its internal training framework and launched technical programmes over the past one year. 
 
The company is re-skilling its staff in newer areas of technology, especially digital, with a focus on commoditised service lines. 
 
Wipro CEO TK Kurien, who undertook the revamping of the framework, also wants to create a leaner and multi-skilled taskforce. 
For this, Wipro also launched at least three technical training programmes over the past year. 
 
The three new programmes - ACME (All-round Capability Model of Excellence), UpScale and Cutting Edge - are part of a drive to skill in multiple areas, in contrast to the past in which impetus was mostly on learning one skill well. 
 
Wipro's head of talent transformation Vishwas Santurkar told Economic Times that ACME had five dimensions of skills. “Technology is one obviously. Second is domain. The third dimension is functional areas. The quality processes, especially with Agile methodology coming in, the Agile methodologies and those areas is a fourth dimension which we feel is very important for an employee to learn. And the fifth is behavioural skills," Santurkar, a vice president at Wipro, told the financial daily. 
 Wipro's efforts comes at a time when its rivals like <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> are also revamping training framework to re-skill its employees on a large scale so that top talent is identified and separated from the rest to work on the toughest and most challenging new-age customer projects. 
 
During a meeting with analysts in March, Kurien had informed that the company was putting a new incentive scheme in place, under which incentives would be linked to incremental revenue and would also make it compulsory for account managers to cross-sell at least three of the company's five service offerings for them to earn variable pay. 
 
Meanwhile, another programme-The Upscale- was launched to lay emphasis on learning new skills, in addition to an employee's existing area of specialisation. 
 
"UpScale looks at what are the surround skills in your core skill area which an employee can take up. And the whole idea was that you have one core skill in which you have deep knowledge. On top of that, you take up another two skills," Santurkar told ET. 
 
The third programme, Cutting Edge, is a new digital strategy under which company's top technical talent and highly skilled programmers are identified and will be rewarded and incentivised differently from the rest of the organisation. 
 
"Cutting Edge is meant for seasoned developers. It is by invitation. People can't just get into the programme. People have to nominate themselves. And then we evaluate what the person has done and whether they have the ability to get into a skill like this," said Santurkar. 
 
As India’s traditional IT Fortune 500 customers are being challenged by digital firms like Amazon and Facebook, they are undertaking large-scale technology transformations. 
 
Customers such as retailer Target are pressurising vendors such as Infosys and Wipro, and asking for highly-skilled technical staff that is capable of solving complex, new-age technology problems. 
 
"I think we are facing the highest levels of disruption in our history. If we don't change and adapt, we won't be around a few years from now," said Navneet Kapoor, managing director of Target India in a recent interview. 
 
Meanwhile, Santurkar told ET that the Cutting Edge programme would be scaled up further this year as part of Wipro's digital push. Other new training initiatives that Wipro has created are Digital Architecture Academy and also a separate academy that focuses on Open Source. 
 
"The objective of the Digital Architecture Academy, is to train the existing architects on the digital technologies and how to architect systems for the digital world. Be it cloud, or be it analytics, any of these areas," Santurkar told ET. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Wipro is changing everything. Know how

India’s second largest software exporter Infosys has formed a special investment committee on its board to keep a watch on all new acquisitions and big investments of the company. <keyword id="6369763" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vishal-Sikka">Vishal Sikka</keyword>, the CEO of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT MNC, is aggressively pursuing buyouts as the company wants to generate $20 billion of revenue by 2020. 
 Its rivals, both <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> and <keyword id="6357585" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Consultancy-Services">Tata Consultancy Services</keyword> (TCS), have a special committee to oversee decisions regarding strategy planning, capital expenditure programmes, acquisitions and investments. Roopa Kudva, new board member and managing director of <keyword id="211875" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Omidyar-Network">Omidyar Network</keyword>'s India operations, would chair the committee that comprises board veteran and former <keyword id="28250" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft-India">Microsoft India</keyword> chairman <keyword id="50299" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ravi-Venkatesan">Ravi Venkatesan</keyword> among other board members, two people familiar with the development told the Economic Times. 
	 

	"Infosys felt that creating a committee to oversee acquisitions was a necessity, given the company's more aggressive stance on acquisitions and investments under Sikka — this committee will be responsible for vetting and overseeing all decisions the company makes on acquisitions, along with the approval of the rest of the board," said one of them. 
	 

	Infosys declined to confirm whether such a committee had been formed. "We do not comment on rumours or speculation," a company spokeswoman said in an email response to ET. 
 

	Sikka has said that he wants acquisitions to generate at least $1.5 billion of that. According to the company's quarterly report, Infosys had cash and cash equivalents of about $5.2 billion as of March 31, 2015. Earlier, in an interview to ET, Sikka said that Infosys would be very aggressive in chasing buyouts. In February, days after the software company bought automation startup <keyword id="2728667" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Panaya">Panaya</keyword> for about Rs 1,200 crore ($200 million), the first non-founder CEO of Infosys said, "We have a dozen targets we are looking at now." Infosys made another large acquisition and bought ecommerce services provider <keyword id="2822310" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kallidus">Kallidus</keyword> (also known as Skava) for $120 million in April. "Anytime we see a company with talent, capabilities and IP in these areas (AI and collaboration technology) we would love to go for an acquisition," said Sikka, a former SAP board member. 
	 

	Both the Panaya and Skava acquisitions were vetted by the newly-formed investment committee on the Infosys board, said the two sources quoted above. 
	 

	The formation of this committee comes at a crucial juncture for Infosys, which is making big bets in newer areas of technology as part of Sikka's overall plan to turnaround the fortunes of the company and also when rivals such as TCS and Wipro are trying to make similar investments to gain a first-mover advantage in areas such as artificial intelligence and automation. Sandra Notardonato of <keyword id="6371981" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Gartner">Gartner</keyword> Research said, to achieve the compound annual rate of revenue growth of 18% implied by the $20 billion target, Infosys is counting on $1.5 billion in acquisitions, 10% contribution from new service areas and 15% internal growth. It’s worth noting that Infosys’ rival Wipro also has a committee that oversees decisions around acquisitions, among other things. Wipro's billionaire chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword>, CEO TK Kurien, board veterans <keyword id="2881183" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="William-Arthur-Owens">William Arthur Owens</keyword> and Jagdish Sheth, and former head of <keyword id="6528042" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</keyword>'s printing business Vyomesh Joshi are currently part of this committee. Even Tata Consultancy Services has an executive committee that oversees decisions around capital expenditure programmes, acquisitions and investments. Members of the committee include TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran, <keyword id="6355725" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Group">Tata Group</keyword> chairman <keyword id="6356895" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cyrus-Mistry">Cyrus Mistry</keyword>, former company veteran S Ramadorai, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen and board veteran Ron Sommer. 
	 
	(Image: Indiatimes)

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka creates a special panel to look into all acquisitions

HYDERABAD: It's been barely a month since he took over as only the third <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/CEO">CEO</a> of tech giant<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Microsoft">Microsoft</a> since it was set up 39 years ago, but <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Satya-Nadella">Satya Nadella</a> already has <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>'s five-year plan chalked out: use software as a driving force to advance the company's devices and services. 
 In an exclusive interview with TOI — the first with an Indian newspaper or TV channel since his ascension to the post of <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> in February — Nadella insisted that software is "one of the most valuable, malleable resources" of the organization and that his primary objective as Microsoft chief would be to deliver software-driven advanced innovations that would help enrich customer experience. "I want to see us remain convinced that software matters in the future," the Hyderabad-born 46-year-old said, reiterating his "incredible focus" on offering Microsoft customers what they really value and enable them to do more in work, life and play. 
 
Back home in India too, Nadella aspires to see his "mobile first, cloud first" mantra accelerate future technology advancements. He acknowledges that the country, which boasts of a more than 6,000 employee-strong base, is a vital part of Microsoft's plans. "We are working with our partners to provide a wide range of Azure cloud offerings to accelerate economic growth and breakthrough cloud services in India," he said. 
 Nadella hailed Indian talent, saying, "... India is a tremendous source of technology talent, both at home and around the world, and that is something we can all take pride in." He also confessed to being moved by the flurry of congratulatory messages that have flooded his inbox. That includes mails from Shantanu Narayen (CEO, <keyword id="99699" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Adobe">Adobe</keyword>), TK Kurien (CEO, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>) and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Ajay-Banga">Ajay Banga</a> (CEO, <keyword id="6368201" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="MasterCard">Mastercard</keyword>) — all alumni of <keyword id="102356" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hyderabad-Public-School">Hyderabad Public School</keyword>, like him. 
 
"I deeply appreciate all the support and encouragement I have received from people all across India," said Nadella. Though he spent only a few years of his childhood in Hyderabad, he asserted, "I will always be a Hyderabadi." 
 
Nadella, by his own admission a poetry fanatic, is currently hooked to the works of American poets <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Walt-Whitman">Walt Whitman</a> and WH Auden. "I went through a phase of reading lots of Urdu poetry, thanks to the great transliterated versions that have become available," he said. But what can't stop haunting him are the final lines from <keyword id="1266000" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Romantic-poet">romantic poet</keyword> <keyword id="150109" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="John-Keats">John Keats</keyword>' Ode On A Grecian Urn: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty — that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know'. 
 
The full interview 
 
Congratulations on your taking over as Microsoft CEO. How has the ride been so far? 
 I've been in the role for little over a month, and it has been incredible. I've been impressed by the passion and energy of Microsoft employees, and their willingness to commit to driving the company forward. I've worked in many areas of the company over 22 years, but there are some pieces of the business I'm getting to learn more about and it's been exciting to dig in deeper with those teams. Together with the leadership team, I'm focused on driving clarity and alignment on the strategy for our path forward with a laser focus on listening to customers and delivering our next waves of innovation. As a side note, I've to admit I was humbled by, and grateful for, the response in India to my appointment. I received congratulations and best wishes from so many people — not just <keyword id="343" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="Friends">friends</keyword> and former colleagues, but many I had never met before. I deeply appreciate the encouragement from people across India. 
 
What's your priority number one as CEO? 
 
Microsoft is an amazing company that has changed the world. I firmly believe our best days are ahead of us. I want us to move faster and advance our innovations to deliver new value to customers. I've spent a lot of time with our leadership team talking about these opportunities and focusing on driving clarity and alignment on strategy, providing our teams with the resources and environment to do their best work, and removing internal barriers so our teams can deliver break through innovation faster. 
 
On Day 1 as CEO, you said your aim would be to take Microsoft towards a "mobile first, cloud first" world. How will you do that? 
 
Microsoft was built on productivity, now we're reimagining productivity for a mobile first, cloud first world. I'm focused on zeroing in on what we can uniquely deliver for customers that they really value - this will manifest itself in our cloud services and in the rich experiences we create on devices that enable customers do more in work, life and play. 
 
Microsoft seems to have lost its mojo. How do you get the momentum back? 
 Our industry doesn't value tradition, it only values innovation. Our 39-year history gives us a strong foundation and capabilities to build on, as an organization. Our quest is to continually renew ourselves, be persistent and push the limits on what is possible. I've been inspired as I've met with our product and R&amp;D teams and got <keyword id="154361" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="feedback">feedback</keyword> from customers. We are on the brink of boundary-less innovation in this industry and, I'm focused on investing in areas where we can drive unique value for customers, and move faster. 
 
Where do you wish to see Microsoft five years down the line? 
 
I want to see us remain convinced that software matters in future. Software is one of the most valuable resources we have, which will be the driving force in advancing our devices and services and driving the next wave of innovations. Culturally, I'd like to see us be known as a learning organization. The ability in this industry to take new learnings, accrue it to what you've done in the past and make it relevant for the future is valuable — I'm energized when I think of the potential here in harnessing the collective brainpower and talent of our soon to be 130,000 employees. 
 
With you at the helm, the software industry here is hopeful of Microsoft's R&amp;D units in India (especially Microsoft's India Development Center, Hyderabad) getting a boost. Anything specific in mind for India? 
 
India has always been a vital part of Microsoft's plans. I think that only increases going forward. India is one of the few countries where Microsoft has the entire range of our operations — including basic R&amp;D and customer services. We have more than 6,000 employees, and over 10,000 partners in India, creating thousands of jobs and a vibrant technology ecosystem. Twenty of the top 20 companies in India use our technology. Five of the top five IT companies, five of the top five manufacturing companies, five of the top five banking organizations — across virtually every sector, Microsoft technology is helping support the economic infrastructure of India. I'm excited about the future technology advancements possible in India in this mobile first, cloud first world. 
 
The cloud is going to be a huge enabler of consumer services and entrepreneurial growth. We are working with our partners to provide a wide range of Azure cloud offerings to accelerate economic growth and breakthrough cloud services in India. I'm passionate about the work we do to support education and other societal goals across India. Microsoft has been running one of the largest not-for-profit education and skills programmes in India. Over the last two decades, our programmes have helped over 40 million students, teachers and budding Indian entrepreneurs. 
 
Your story is an inspiration to many. Some critics argue that your success highlights the unfortunate reality of Indian students who shine only when they give up on their country to work in the US. Your comments ... 
 
There are many examples of Indian students who have remained in India and built great companies and done great things. Truth is that India is a tremendous source of technology talent, both at home and around the world. That's something we can all take pride in. 
 
What or who has been your inspiration? 
 
My parents have been among my biggest inspirations — they gave me the freedom and confidence to pursue what I wanted to. Beyond that, my teachers, friends and colleagues played a critical role in both introducing me to new things and pushing me to raise my game each step of the way. <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bill-Gates">Bill Gates</a> has also been an inspiration — from his vision of how technology could unleash the potential of every human being, to the <keyword id="69295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Curiosity">curiosity</keyword> and intellectual rigour that he brings to every interaction. I've learned so much from Bill, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with him again as a <keyword id="605495" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="technology-advisor">technology advisor</keyword> to me and the company. 
 
When you are not at work or, like you've confessed, signing up for online courses, what do you do? We know you like poetry. Any favourites? 
 
I do buy more books than I can read and sign up for more online courses than I can finish. My love of poetry has grown. Maybe it's my attention span that needs more work, but I do love the compression in poetry. I went through a phase of reading Urdu poetry, thanks to the great transliterated versions now available. Now I am into Whitman and WH Auden. My all-time favourite is Keats — Ode on a Grecian Urn. Who is not haunted by those final lines — Beauty is truth, truth beauty — that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. 
 
How about cricket? Do you now get any time to play? Or even watch Tests? 
 I love the game. I was an <keyword id="244893" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="ordinary-player">ordinary player</keyword>, but was lucky to play under some great captains and other solid players at school who went on to play a decent amount of First Class cricket. 
 
You were born and brought up in Hyderabad. What memories do you have of the city? 
 Cumulatively I spent five years in Hyderabad. But I will always be a Hyderabadi. It was a laid back place in the late 70s and early 80s when I was growing up there. One got to do what they wanted versus being in a <keyword id="37572" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="rush">rush</keyword> to do what others were doing. I enjoyed that freedom. I have lots of friends from Hyderabad Public School with whom I am pretty close, both in Hyderabad and elsewhere. It was great to get emails from all the CEOs who happen to be HPS alumnus — Shantanu Narayen at Adobe, <keyword id="6385037" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Prem-Watsa">Prem Watsa</keyword> at Fairfax Holdings, TK Kurian at Wipro and <keyword id="44475" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ajay-Banga">Ajay Banga</keyword> at Mastercard. It's surreal. 
 
What's that one message you would want to give young professionals? 
 
Find something you are truly passionate about, and throw yourself into it fully. Life is too short to just go through the motions on something you are not truly passionate about. Stay curious, never stop learning.

You Searched For "TK Kurien" and got 15 results

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