Azim Premji
Born 24 July 1945 · Maharashtra
Transforming Wipro into a global IT services powerhouse and pioneering Indian software exports.
🔔 Add birthday reminderAzim Hashim Premji is an Indian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founder chairman. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He was listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, in 2004 and 2011.
✨ A detail that surprised us
Azim Premji postponed completing his Stanford engineering degree for over 30 years, finally earning it in 1999 after returning to finish via correspondence.
1. At just 21 years old in 1966, Azim Premji abruptly left Stanford University after his father's sudden death, returning to a small town in Maharashtra to helm a struggling cooking oil company called Western India Vegetable Products Ltd.—little did anyone know this moment would ignite a tech revolution in India.
2. 🌟 By the 1980s, after IBM's exit from India, Premji boldly steered Wipro from soaps and vanaspati oils into the uncharted waters of minicomputer manufacturing through a partnership with Sentinel Computer Corporation, marking one of India's earliest forays into IT hardware.
3. 🚀 In 2001, Premji launched the Azim Premji Foundation with an initial donation of $2.2 billion, aiming to overhaul elementary education across rural India—a mission that soon reached over 16,000 schools with localized, computer-aided learning.
4. 💰 In 2013, Premji became the first Indian to join the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of his $11.6 billion fortune, a promise he fulfilled by transferring two-thirds of his Wipro shares to his philanthropic trust, reshaping how Indian billionaires engage with social responsibility.
5. By 2010, Asiaweek named Premji among the 20 most powerful men globally, a nod to how his vision transcended business to influence education policy and ethical entrepreneurship in India.
6. Azim Premji's humility remained legendary: despite billions, he flew economy class and drove a modest car, embodying a rare blend of wealth and simplicity that challenged India’s corporate culture.
7. ❓ How will Azim Premji’s unprecedented fusion of technology, business ethics, and philanthropy continue to influence India’s next generation of leaders and the future of global social entrepreneurship?
Awards & Honours
- 🏅Padma Vibhushan
🔍 One thing most people don't know
In 1966, at age 21, Premji took charge of a small cooking oil company after his father’s death, setting the stage for Wipro’s transformation into a tech giant.
🖼️ Through the Years
📅 The Journey
🗝️ Discoveries
🎥 Speeches & Recordings
Learning from real story (Kindness) - Azim Premji (English)
YouTube📖 Curated Sources
🌱 What changed because of them
Azim Premji transformed a modest cooking oil business into Wipro, a global IT powerhouse, catalyzing India’s emergence as a tech hub. His Azim Premji Foundation revolutionized rural education by integrating technology and teacher training in over 16,000 schools, setting new standards for philanthropic engagement in India. His commitment to donating most of his wealth inspired a new wave of socially responsible Indian entrepreneurship.
💬 Social Buzz
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