Wipro in 2005: Vivek Paul's Resignation & Beyond

Paul had joined Wipro in July 1999 after Ashok Soota, the then vice-chairman, had just quit to set up MindTree Consulting. Impressed by Paul's stint at GE Medical Systems Premji believed that Paul was the man Wipro needed. Paul's mission was to make Wipro, then a small $150-million company, one among the top 10 global IT services companies...

In June 2004, at Wipro's annual general meeting, Paul was re-appointed vice chairman. The next day, some 550 Wipro employees gathered at Goa's Hotel Marriott for a six-day bash. It was to celebrate the year gone by, when the tech major had crossed the $1-billion sales barrier...

Wipro had lived through a lot of turmoil in the past. When Ashok Soota quit with a handful of senior managers in 1999, it was considered almost disastrous in the short term, but Wipro had survived. Wipro had a team of old timers who were very loyal to the firm. The business prognosis too seemed encouraging. The company had closed fiscal 2004-05 with a 39 % topline growth and the market expected it to sustain these growth rates in 2005-06...

Exhibit 1: Paul's Years in Wipro
Exhibit 2: Wipro's Challenges