 "I am leaving a firm with a great future: Suresh C Senapaty")
For a company which has seen much of organisational change, the constant factor at Bengaluru-based Wipro over the past couple of decades has been Suresh C Senapaty, who's seen five chief executives come and go in his tenure. From joining as the 25th management employee of Wipro in 1980, he's played several roles. Set to bid adieu after 35 years, Senapaty, in a conversation with Itika Sharma Punit and Bibhu Ranjan Mishra, talks about his tenure and the company’s future. Edited excerpts:
Do you recall the interview you had at the time of joining Wipro in April 1980?
I remember it well. I was interviewed by a then 35-year-old Managing Director Azim Premji. It was an interesting interview; not like a rapid-fire but touched upon business situations, performing versus non-performing businesses, performing versus non-performing products, restructuring, tax, financing, resource allocation, etc. We all knew Premji was running the business and therefore one would believe he would be aware of sales or business-related stuff. But I never felt that I was talking to a non-chartered accountant (CA). That is the mastery he had — appreciation of the nitty-gritty and nuances that are generally missing in a person who is not a CA by profession.
Could you walk us through your journey at Wipro?
Around 15 months after joining the company, I was given the job of heading the finance of a factory, replacing someone who was at least four levels ahead of me and there were four people who were in my grade or higher reporting to me. There were 75 people in the team who were reporting to me.
In 1982, I became the CFO of the foods business. After 10 years, I shifted to Bangalore and became CFO of the IT (information technology) division. This position was also offered to me two years before that but I'd then felt I was not prepared. The second time, I took it up thinking that it would add a new dimension to the profile. In 1995, I became the group CFO and was inducted in the company's board in 2008.
At any point, did you think of quitting Wipro?
Six months into my job here, I got an offer from one of the companies where I'd applied before joining Wipro, with an aim of moving abroad. My boss tore my offer letter and said you are doing well here, stay and you will be noticed. Later, several times, there were offers, but I did not pursue them much. This one time, when I was in Mumbai still (pre-1992), there was an idea that I should go back to Odisha and take up a corporate job there. But my wife held me back. Maybe because she is from Andhra Pradesh (laughs).
You are among the people who have worked with Premji for the longest. What are your thoughts about him?
When you see an individual who has such a large ownership but is prepared to professionalise, you develop a respect and comfort with him. The first thing I like about him is the emphasis on integrity and ethics. Additionally, his professionalism. People say 'work hard and party harder' but Premji's concept is 'work hard and work harder'. That's not only for us -- he applies the same standard on himself. This attitude is not just for the sake of working or spending long hours in office, it is for the excitement of work. Third, I admire his risk-taking ability. He wants to explore new things and look at things ahead of the curve.
At any point of time, did you ever aspire to be the CEO (chief executive) or was it proposed?
I have never wanted to be a CEO. That position needed much more on-the-road kind of commitments. Besides, I was still in a position to be able to influence (decisions). Therefore, I was not required to change my position to be able to do anything of that nature. In a company like ours, the post of CEO will keep you from home for very long. It would have been too much of a toll for my family.
Do you think any decision to which you were party to could have been taken differently — for example, the joint CEO model?
I think the joint CEO model was the demand of the time. That point was a transitory phase, as Premji himself was earlier running the business. So, we were evolving the model as opposed to getting somebody from outside.
As you leave, what future do your see for the company?
It has a great future. The new structure we have put in place from April 1 with the chief operating officer coming in.
That gives much more bandwidth to Kurien (T K Kurien, CEO) to be able to work on the future of the company, on the business model and make it much more focused. So I am sure that orchestration should be far better than what has happened so far.
Could that have been done before? I don’t think so. When we started the structural changes in 2011-12, we had to necessarily go through the two-year grind before we could come to this stage.
Do you recall the interview you had at the time of joining Wipro in April 1980?
I remember it well. I was interviewed by a then 35-year-old Managing Director Azim Premji. It was an interesting interview; not like a rapid-fire but touched upon business situations, performing versus non-performing businesses, performing versus non-performing products, restructuring, tax, financing, resource allocation, etc. We all knew Premji was running the business and therefore one would believe he would be aware of sales or business-related stuff. But I never felt that I was talking to a non-chartered accountant (CA). That is the mastery he had — appreciation of the nitty-gritty and nuances that are generally missing in a person who is not a CA by profession.
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Around 15 months after joining the company, I was given the job of heading the finance of a factory, replacing someone who was at least four levels ahead of me and there were four people who were in my grade or higher reporting to me. There were 75 people in the team who were reporting to me.
In 1982, I became the CFO of the foods business. After 10 years, I shifted to Bangalore and became CFO of the IT (information technology) division. This position was also offered to me two years before that but I'd then felt I was not prepared. The second time, I took it up thinking that it would add a new dimension to the profile. In 1995, I became the group CFO and was inducted in the company's board in 2008.
At any point, did you think of quitting Wipro?
Six months into my job here, I got an offer from one of the companies where I'd applied before joining Wipro, with an aim of moving abroad. My boss tore my offer letter and said you are doing well here, stay and you will be noticed. Later, several times, there were offers, but I did not pursue them much. This one time, when I was in Mumbai still (pre-1992), there was an idea that I should go back to Odisha and take up a corporate job there. But my wife held me back. Maybe because she is from Andhra Pradesh (laughs).
You are among the people who have worked with Premji for the longest. What are your thoughts about him?
When you see an individual who has such a large ownership but is prepared to professionalise, you develop a respect and comfort with him. The first thing I like about him is the emphasis on integrity and ethics. Additionally, his professionalism. People say 'work hard and party harder' but Premji's concept is 'work hard and work harder'. That's not only for us -- he applies the same standard on himself. This attitude is not just for the sake of working or spending long hours in office, it is for the excitement of work. Third, I admire his risk-taking ability. He wants to explore new things and look at things ahead of the curve.
At any point of time, did you ever aspire to be the CEO (chief executive) or was it proposed?
I have never wanted to be a CEO. That position needed much more on-the-road kind of commitments. Besides, I was still in a position to be able to influence (decisions). Therefore, I was not required to change my position to be able to do anything of that nature. In a company like ours, the post of CEO will keep you from home for very long. It would have been too much of a toll for my family.
Do you think any decision to which you were party to could have been taken differently — for example, the joint CEO model?
I think the joint CEO model was the demand of the time. That point was a transitory phase, as Premji himself was earlier running the business. So, we were evolving the model as opposed to getting somebody from outside.
As you leave, what future do your see for the company?
It has a great future. The new structure we have put in place from April 1 with the chief operating officer coming in.
That gives much more bandwidth to Kurien (T K Kurien, CEO) to be able to work on the future of the company, on the business model and make it much more focused. So I am sure that orchestration should be far better than what has happened so far.
Could that have been done before? I don’t think so. When we started the structural changes in 2011-12, we had to necessarily go through the two-year grind before we could come to this stage.