Former CEO of Wipro, IT Industry Executive, Venture Partner, Independent Director, Strategic Advisor
Throughout a 29-year-long & distinguished career in the technology industry, Abid has established a reputation for bold, transformative thinking, a laser focus on results, and an unwavering commitment to maximizing stakeholder value. He has consistently aligned and motivated his organizations to envision and deliver the latest technology as it unfolds during the progression of several leadership roles, resulting in market differentiation, rapid scaling, and industry-leading profitability.
Abid began his journey with Tata Consulting Services (TCS) in 1992 out of campus at IIT Bombay. During a rapid acceleration in the nascent Indian IT services industry, Abid quickly rose, from a software engineer to sales, establishing new global delivery models, pioneering software engineering processes, and running P&Ls conceptualizing entirely new businesses. He established TCS as an essential strategic partner to its clients, resulting in several mega-deals with large global enterprises across multiple industries. Post the GFC, Abid took the mantle of building a new business, and under his leadership, TCS’s BPO business scaled to $2 billion in less than ten years.
In 2015, he joined Wipro as its COO and was soon promoted to CEO and then to Managing Director, overseeing over $9 billion in revenues and 185,000 employees. Abid’s mandate was to lead the company into its digital future while building a more diversified and profitable core. He implemented a strategy focused on stronger client partnerships and investing in digital-first and agile capabilities while strengthening execution and driving deeper employee engagement. Abid took decisive action in divesting non-core businesses, focusing on digital services, which grew to 40% of overall revenues at a 35% CAGR, improving customer satisfaction by 1000 bps.
A believer in the impact of brand and culture on the top line, bottom line, and balance sheet performance, Abid led a strategic effort to rebrand Wipro while concurrently streamlining and modernizing the company and promoting a culture of innovation. In his quest to establish next-generation paradigms, he sponsored a first-of-its-kind venture fund. He piloted an enterprise crowdsourcing platform that will become a benchmark for future work in the IT services industry post-COVID. Abid always focused on talent development and drove the creation of deep capabilities in human-centric design, cloud, artificial intelligence, and hyper-automation. And continuing his track record of delivering mega-deals, he spearheaded the largest deal in Wipro’s history, a $1.5 billion outsourcing contract with Blackstone-owned Alight Solutions.
A statesman of the technology services industry and a thought leader advising Global CIOs on Digital Transformation, in June 2020, after retiring from Wipro, he joined Dallas Venture Capital as a Venture Partner bringing rich experience in business and technology to the portfolio companies and mentorship to the founders as a strategic advisor. He also joined the board of Virtusa (VRTU), which was battling activist investors. It culminated in Barings Asia PE buying the company at a 28% premium and taking it private within a few months of Abid’s joining the board.
Over a remarkable career spanning multiple countries and organizations, Abid has established himself as a humble and passionate leader focused on helping his clients, employees, and peers realize the power of technology. He is equally passionate about the community and his family. He currently serves on the Texas Economic Development Corporation and the World Affairs Council of the DFW board. Abid was a member of the Business Roundtable in Washington, DC, and is a member of the Indo-US CEO forum. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife of 26 years and three children in college and beyond.