Azim Premji is not only one of India's biggest entrepreneurs, he is also the face of corporate philanthropy.
Rukmini Rao New Delhi
Azim Premji (Photograph by Hemant Mishra)
Nearly half a decade ago, the untimely death of his father forced Azim Hashim Premji, who was then at Stanford pursuing engineering, to abruptly leave his studies and return to India. Taking over his family's vegetable oil business at the age of 21 in 1966, over the course of next 20 years, Premji diversified Wipro's interests, from IT products to engineering services, and from medical equipment solutions to FMCG.
In an interview to a television channel, recalling his early days, Premji spoke of the scepticism that a shareholder had when he took over the company. "His comment really got my determination up to prove him wrong," Premji said. With no prior experience of managing a company, all Premji had was his ability to work hard.
"His biggest strength is perhaps tenacity; the ability to focus and then work single mindedly towards the goal," says Yasmeen Premji, his wife. The two had met in what was then Bombay and later married.
Yasmeen Premji, Azim Premji's wife
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Apart from being one of India's biggest entrepreneurs, Premji is undoubtedly the face of corporate philanthropy in the country. He established the Azim Premji Foundation in 2001 with a focus on education, especially girls. Till date, he has committed over $10 billion to various philanthropic causes through his Trust and family office. Joining the league of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, Premji was the first Indian to give away over $2 billion to Giving Pledge in 2013. Under the foundation, Premji has also set up the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru in 2010.
Last year, while interacting with school and college students during Wipro Earthian awards ceremony, Premji was asked about his goal in life. He answered: "To be successful in what I do and to the best of what I can do." A motto that drives him even today at the age of 73.
Read full article: businesstoday
Rukmini Rao New Delhi
Nearly half a decade ago, the untimely death of his father forced Azim Hashim Premji, who was then at Stanford pursuing engineering, to abruptly leave his studies and return to India. Taking over his family's vegetable oil business at the age of 21 in 1966, over the course of next 20 years, Premji diversified Wipro's interests, from IT products to engineering services, and from medical equipment solutions to FMCG.
In an interview to a television channel, recalling his early days, Premji spoke of the scepticism that a shareholder had when he took over the company. "His comment really got my determination up to prove him wrong," Premji said. With no prior experience of managing a company, all Premji had was his ability to work hard.
"His biggest strength is perhaps tenacity; the ability to focus and then work single mindedly towards the goal," says Yasmeen Premji, his wife. The two had met in what was then Bombay and later married.
*******
Apart from being one of India's biggest entrepreneurs, Premji is undoubtedly the face of corporate philanthropy in the country. He established the Azim Premji Foundation in 2001 with a focus on education, especially girls. Till date, he has committed over $10 billion to various philanthropic causes through his Trust and family office. Joining the league of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, Premji was the first Indian to give away over $2 billion to Giving Pledge in 2013. Under the foundation, Premji has also set up the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru in 2010.
Last year, while interacting with school and college students during Wipro Earthian awards ceremony, Premji was asked about his goal in life. He answered: "To be successful in what I do and to the best of what I can do." A motto that drives him even today at the age of 73.
Read full article: businesstoday
