Bengaluru: Wipro Ltd has promoted Rajan Kohli, the head of its digital business, to the rank of president, a move analysts said underscores the significance of new solution offerings in the revenue portfolio of the Bengaluru-based company.
Wipro, while elevating Kohli late last month, promoted four other executives to the rank of senior vice-president, according to an executive familiar with the development.
“Wipro Limited can confirm that Rajan Kohli has been promoted as president, digital, with immediate effect. He will continue to be the global head of Wipro Digital and report to chief executive officer Abidali Neemuchwala,” said a spokesperson for Wipro.
Kohli is one of the eight presidents at the company, all of them reporting to Neemuchwala.
The company’s chief operating officer, Bhanumurthy Ballapuram; chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil; and the recently appointed head of strategic sales, Anand Padmanabhan, are presidents.
Shaji Farooq, the company’s head of banking and financial services unit; N.S. Bala, the head of energy, natural resources and utilities division; Srini Pallia, the head of consumer business unit; and Milan Rao, the head of the communications business, are also presidents.
Kohli, who took over as head of Wipro Digital in March 2015, has steered it to become a $2 billion business for the company, making the growth of the digital business one of the few success stories at the company.
“Rajan has led the efforts to bring Wipro Digital from zero to $2 billion in a quick three years. We have seen him help clients bridge the gap in not only digital technology but also understanding the digital business models required for success,” said Ray Wang, founder of Constellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm. “This is recognition of not only Rajan’s efforts to grow $2 billion in Digital but also the importance of Digital in the revenue mix for Wipro,” said Wang.
Over the last few years, Wipro, which ended with $8.06 billion in revenue last year, has struggled for growth and lagged behind its rivals. Noida-based HCL Technologies Ltd is poised to surpass Wipro to become India’s third-biggest software services provider in the current quarter, marking the first change in the pecking order of the country’s $167 billion IT outsourcing industry in six years.