Wipro files suit against former CFO Jatin Dalal after he joins Cognizant

The IT giant also recently filed a complaint against its former senior executive Mohd Haque, and accused him of violating a non-compete clause embedded within his employment contract

IT giant Wipro has reportedly initiated legal action against its former chief financial officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal in the Bengaluru civil court. Following this, Dalal has submitted an application, requesting the court to refer the matter to arbitration.

Dalal recently joined rival company Cognizant.

The specific reasons behind the lawsuit are not clear at this point, according to a report in the Times of India. Wipro and Dalal have presented their arguments in the legal matter. The next hearing is scheduled for January 3. The court would also decide whether the matter should be referred to arbitration. It is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties, to one or more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. In choosing arbitration, the parties opt for a private dispute resolution procedure instead of going to court.

 

A Wipro spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

On September 21, Wipro announced that Jatin Pravinchandra Dalal has resigned as chief financial officer. In a regulatory filing, Wipro stated that Aparna Iyer had been appointed as the new finance chief. It said that Iyer will report to CEO Thierry Delaporte and will join the Wipro Executive Board. She succeeded Jatin Dalal, who stepped down as CFO to explore other career opportunities.

On September 28, Cognizant, one of the world's leading professional services companies, announced the appointment of Jatin Dalal as CFO, with the appointment anticipated to be effective in December 2023. Dalal will report to Ravi Kumar S, Cognizant's Chief Executive Officer, and oversee, among other responsibilities, Cognizant's worldwide financial planning and analysis, accounting and controllership, tax, treasury and internal audit, corporate development, investor relations, and enterprise risk management functions.

Dalal will succeed Jan Siegmund, who intends to retire in early 2024. Upon Dalal's assumption of the role of CFO, Siegmund will remain with the Company as a non-executive officer and special advisor to support an orderly transition.

As the CFO for Wipro, Dalal was responsible for areas such as corporate finance, business planning, treasury, taxation, controllership, assurance and procurement. Dalal was also on the investment committee of Wipro Ventures, Wipro’s $300 million strategic investment arm that focuses on investing in early- to mid-stage startups. A qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), Dalal joined Wipro in 2002 and over the years has worked in diverse roles in finance.

Wipro also recently filed a complaint against Mohd Haque, its former senior vice president (SVP) and head of healthcare and medical devices for the Americas. The firm accused him of violating a non-compete clause embedded within his employment contract. Haque had moved from the company to take up the role of senior vice president and business unit head for life sciences at Cognizant.

Wipro's shares gained 1.5 per cent on Tuesday and ended the session at Rs 469.7 apiece. The stock is up 20 per cent in 2023.