Who is Azim Premji?

Shiv Nadar, HCL’s founder, topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List by reclaiming the title of ‘India’s most generous’. As per the reports, he made donations of 3 crore per day.

Wipro’s ex-chairman and well known philanthropist Azim Premji was second in the list, with an annual donation of Rs 484 crore. Premji was at the top position for the last two consecutive years.

Premji has guided Wipro for nearly four decades and introduced diversification of consumer products at early stages.

Who is Azim Premji?

Azim Hasham Premji was born on July 24, 1945 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to a notable businessman of Gujarat. His father, Muhammed Hashim Premji, founded Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd. the year he was born. The company’s most well known product is Vanaspati, a hydrogenated vegetable oil.

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Premji’s father passed away unexpectedly, just before he was about to complete his graduation from Stanford University. He postponed his graduation to take care of his family business. Premji’s strategy was to diversify consumer products, introducing products such as soap, shoes, and lightbulbs, as well as hydraulic cylinders.

The company was renamed to Wipro in 1977. In 1979, the Indian government asked IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) to leave India, after which Premji steered the company towards computer business.

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The firm’s most lucrative venture was perhaps software development. Wipro’s chief goal was to develop software for export, primarily the United States.

The increase in technology stocks in late 1990s led Wipro’s value to skyrocket, and made Premji one of the richest persons in the world. He officially completed his degree from Stanford University in 1999 through a distance learning program.

Despite being one of the richest entrepreneurs in India, Premji is recognized for his charity and humble behavior. He founded Azim Premji Foundation, which aimed to improve the quality of education in rural areas of the country.

Azim Premji married Yasmeen Premji. Together, they have two sons- Rishad and Tariq Premji. Rishad is the successor to his father and is currently the chairman of Wipro.