Wipro's Chairman Azim Premji on building a world-class Indian company

Executive Overview Azim Premji dropped his studies at Stanford University in 1966 to take over the family business, Wipro, in Bombay, following his father's sudden death. He was only 21, and Wipro was a $5 million company selling consumer products. Today Wipro has a market capitalization of $10 billion and is engaged in several high-tech businesses, notably software services. More than half its sales come from exports, principally to the United States. Wipro's stock now trades on the New Yoric Stock Exchange at a price-earnings multiple of 70 or more. Its customers include several Fortune 500 companies for which it provides software support and R&D services. Wipro was the first company in the world to obtain CMM-Level 5 certification from Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, the highest possible rating for a software development organization. Wipro is also renowned within India as an ethical and professionally managed company. Azim Premji, 55, whose family still owns 84 percent of ...