The risk-taking high performer

BACKSTAGE/VIVEK PAUL

In 1999, for most of the IT world, not least GE boss Jeff Immelt, Vivek Paul's decision to leave a comfortably successful job as global head of GE Medical Systems to join the Indian software major Wipro Technologies may have appeared downright illogical. Why would anybody want to leave one of the world's most admired and valuable companies in favour of a global IT minnow?

Five years on, neither Paul nor Wipro can have cause for regret. Last week, Paul, who is Vice Chairman of Wipro Ltd and President of Wipro Technologies, Wipro's global technology services division, found a place among BusinessWeek magazine's selection of 17 global leaders as one of the Best Managers of 2003.

Paul, 45, was the only Indian manager on the list which was compiled after surveying 140 editors and writers of the magazine across its 21 bureaus.

The reason he's there, however, is not because of what was then a patently risky decision. In the three years since he took charge, the Santa Clara-based division he stewards has grown at over 45 per cent a year in terms of revenues with operating profits growing at over 50 per cent, compounded. And this despite the global economic slowdown after 9/11.

The growth has come partly from bold expansions "" he acquired US-based financial-services consultant NerveWire and the utilities practice of consultancy AMS. But new customers have also contributed to this performance: Paul was able to acquire clients from the auto and electronics industry by leveraging the fact that Wipro is among the world's largest providers of outsourced tech R&D.

It was Paul, too, who introduced Wipro Technologies to the concept Six Sigma, an exercise that brought the company major dividends in terms of costs and quality. He is also the force behind Wipro's listing at New York Stock Exchange, the biggest step taken by the company to transform itself from an Indian company to a truly multinational conglomerate. Today, Wipro is India's largest listed IT services corporation.

Of course, as the BusinessWeek article points out, Paul is still some way from his vision of being among the top 10 global tech-services firms in four years. "Wipro isn't there yet, but thanks to low rates and efficient service, it's on its way," the article said.

Perhaps some of the magazine's confidence in Wipro's future success lies in Paul's own formidable high-achieving CV. Before he left for Wipro, Paul was based in Milwaukee and ran GE's Global CT (Computerised Tomography) Scanner business with nearly $1 billion in revenues, reporting directly to Immelt.

He is said to have driven productivity through developing a design-and-build capability in China for the economy range and launched breakthrough products through the pioneering application of Six Sigma techniques, an achievement that earned a mention in the best-selling book on the subject.

Not that he was new to Wipro when he left GE. Before his Milwaukee assignment, Paul was president and CEO of GE's medical equipment joint venture with Wipro.

Paul is an electrical and electronics engineer, a product of BITS, Pilani, and holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Among the many hobbies he records (swimming, running and so on), is bridge, which has no doubt played a role in his ability to finesse both critics and competition with elan.

Paul's Big Idea is building a multi-cultural workforce. It is based on the very practical premise that a workforce of this nature is able to serve clients across the world better. Last year saw Paul recruit professionals from different nationalities to take on leadership positions in the organisation. They came from companies like EDS, IBM, Accenture, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and so on.

He also believes that success in global consultancy hinges on innovation and creativity. To this end, he set up the Innovation Council, which incubates and nurtures employees' ideas, provides the necessary business inputs and creates successful businesses for Wipro. The next few years will tell whether his HR initiatives will pay off.