Wipro CEO To Step Down, Cites Family Matters

Abidali Z Neemuchwala cites family matters for his decision to step down after helping transition his yet-to-be-determined successor. During his four years at the helm, Wipro's business grew, but its reputation took a hit after a big cybersecurity attack in 2018.

Abidali Z Neemuchwala plans to step down from his role as Wipro's CEO and managing director, the Bangalore, India-based global solution provider said Thursday.

Neemuchwala, who is stepping down due to family commitments, will continue in his current roles while Wipro's board of directors find a new CEO to help with a smooth transition, the company said.

Neemuchwala joined Wipro in the spring of 2015 after a 23-year stint at rival Tata Consultancy Services, where he last served as a company vice president. He started at Wipro as group president and chief operating officer, but for the last four years has served as CEO and managing director.

[Related: Wipro Says Breach ‘Did Not Impact’ Business]

Under his leadership, Wipro has seen steady growth in revenue, based in Indian Crore terms, except for a slight dip in fiscal year 2018. The company earlier this month said its fiscal third quarter 2020, which ended December 31, saw revenue rise 2.7 percent year-over-year to $2.2 billion, nearly all of which came from IT services. Net income, however, fell 2.2 percent over last year to $344 million.

Neemuchwala had a tough year in 2019 thanks to a significant security breach at Wipro.

The company in April said hackers had launched a cyberattack that reportedly involved at least a dozen of its clients, but didn't know about the attack until alerted by KrebsOnSecurity.

Wipro described the attack as a phishing campaign against a few employees, and said it used its own security services to remediate the issues.

Wipro did not respond to a CRN request for more information by press time.