Azim Premji addresses last AGM at Wipro as chairman, says 'our wealth for society, not its owners'

Azim Premji, the Wipro Chairman and philanthropist, has addressed the 73rd Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is his last AGM as the Chairman of the company.  Premji, who helmed Wipro for decades and made one of the largest information company in India, said he always believed in Mahatma Gandhi’s dictum that we must remain ‘trustees’ of our wealth for society, not its owners. 

The Wipro chairman will step down from his position on July 31, 2019, and Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy officer and Member of Board, will take over as the Executive Chairman. Premji is known for his philanthropic contributions to the soceity. He has pledged majority of his wealth to his foundation. Premji Foundation has now endowment of $21 billion, making it among the five largest endowments across the world.

Wipro, which was established as a small vegetable oil company,  became the leading information technology company in the country over the decades and Premji has major contribution in it. 

"Wipro believes that all businesses must contribute to the communities that they are citizens of. Our social and community initiatives have deepened and grown over the years. Education has been the primary focus of our work for close to two decades now. Till date we have partnered with 166 organizations working in school education," Premji said.

"I have always believed in Mahatma Gandhi’s dictum, that we must remain trustees of our wealth for society, not its owners. I have irrevocably renounced more of my personal assets and earmarked them to the endowment which supports the Azim Premji Foundation philanthropic activities. The total value of the philanthropic endowment corpus contributed over time is Rs 150,000 crore, which includes 67 percent of economic ownership of Wipro."

Ajim Premji took the helm of the company in 1966 after the death of his father Hasham Premji.