Davos 2025: 'Incredibly energised about his leadership,’ says Rishad Premji on Wipro CEO Srini Pallia

Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji.

Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji expressed confidence in the new chief executive officer Srinivas Pallia, adding that the Bengaluru-headquartered company has built a differentiating story since the transition.

"It's been 10 months. He's been here three quarters. I'm incredibly energised and excited about his leadership," Premji told Moneycontrol at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 23.

On April 6, 2024, Wipro appointed company veteran Srini Pallia as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company. The 56-year-old Pallia succeeded his predecessor Thierry Delaporte, who after leading Wipro for four years, decided to step down a year before his term, to pursue “passions outside the workplace.”

Premji highlighted Wipro's recent performance and said momentum has picked up in the market and deal activity.

"We’ve had a good quarter, as you’ve seen. There’s a strong sense of the market, deals, and building a differentiating story around Wipro, which is very consulting-led and AI-powered," he added.

Pallia, after declaring the third quarter results, ended December 31, 2024, said Wipro won a vendor consolidation deal with a leading American retail and distribution company as a result of its AI-led approach across engineering, digital, infrastructure, and application services.

“I think we're moving in the right direction… So, I'm incredibly energized about what we're doing and how we're driving. There's a strong sense of the market,” Premji further said.

Demand Environment

Premji also expressed optimism on how demand is shaping up in 2025.

He highlighted an anticipated rebound in discretionary spending in 2025. “From my vantage point, I think 2025 hopefully should be a better year than 2024,” said Premji, adding “The establishment we have in the US will be more pro-business and more pro-growth, less taxation, less regulation. And that just helps.”

His views are similar to Wipro’s larger rival Infosys, which expects increased spending on large digital programmes led by investments in technology by large companies.

“What we’re hearing from clients, especially large companies, is that over time, more investment will flow into technology,” Parekh told Moneycontrol earlier on January 23. “This will translate into large digital programmes in the future.”

Meanwhile, Premji said early signs of increased customer spending indicate a positive shift in demand, although cost considerations still remain.

Speaking on geographies, he pointed out that Europe as a market is in transition.

“Some markets are struggling a little bit more. There's the challenge of over-regulation. There's the challenge of energy. And I think that may take a little bit more time to settle,” he said.

“Overall, I think it (2025) should be better than 2024. So, I am looking forward.”

Meanwhile, experts say Q3FY25 has seen the healthiest recovery for the IT services sector, with companies reporting their strongest recovery in 18 months.

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