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Wipro Vice Chairman Vivek Paul has been named as one of the best managers for the year 2003 by BusinessWeek in its latest issue dated January 12, 2004.
Paul has been listed along side Rose Marie Bravo of British retailer Burberry, Apple boss Steve Jobs, NBC chairman Bob Wright, Craig Barret of Intel and Starbucks CEO Orin Smith.
Paul, who is said to be the highest paid executive in India, joined Wipro in August 1999 as the CEO of Wipro's global information technology, product engineering, and business process services segment. Wipro's last annual report shows his salary is $1.11 million, that is Rs 5.21 crore per year.
BusinessWeek praised the Mountain View, California-based Wipro vice chairman for taking Wipro from a $150 million company to a $1 billion giant; and for his strategy of growth by acquisition is helping Wipro steal business from the likes of IBM Global and Accenture.
"When Paul joined Wipro it was an obscure, $150 million Indian software services and hardware company which today is almost a $1 billion IT services major," said BusinessWeek.
"Five years ago, when Vivek Paul told his boss Jeff Immelt that he was leaving his post as global head of GE Medical Systems to join an obscure, $150 million Indian software services and hardware company, Immelt tried to dissuade him," said BusinessWeek.
"But Paul joined Wipro anyway. Now Wipro is India's largest listed IT services company, with revenues near $1 billion," said BusinessWeek.
The company went for an IPO on the NYSE in the year 2000 and currently has a market cap of $6 billion.
The magazine also lauded Paul, a 45-year-old engineer born and educated in India with an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, for setting an "audacious goal: to be among the top 10 global tech-services companies in four years."
"Wipro isn't there yet, but thanks to low rates and efficient service, it's on its way. Working with Azim Premji, who owns 84 per cent of Wipro, Paul acquired US-based financial-services consultant NerveWire and the utilities practice of consultancy AMS," said BusinessWeek.
"He also capitalised on Wipro's position as the world's largest provider of outsourced tech R&D to woo business from the auto and electronics industries," said BusinessWeek.