When he went to Stanford in the mid-1960s, basically he discovered that he was behind. He did not have the kind of knowledge that his peers had and he decided that he had to do a lot of catching up. He became a very serious student. He worked really hard.

His first goal was to be in the top 20 percent of his class. When he went back to India, his father died and the company that his father had founded was really in terrible shape and he was given the task of saving it, He knew that in order to save it he had to make it a lot better.

He changed it and he thought about what the world's best companies do to improve and asked himself as to how he could make that company better. He set out to do that. I think there is a link between his Stanford days and his focus on quality.

What kind of person is Azim Premji?

I am told he travels a lot. He loves to go hiking. He is not relentlessly at the job although he is a very hard worker and works very long hours. But you know what? He is a very frugal guy.

He drives a Toyota Corolla. That is how he is. A very frugal guy. His house is next to one of the Wipro facilities. He gets up in the morning and walks around the corner. Not only does he own 80 percent of the company, he is even physically close to it.

And one thing I did not know about him -– he has a bit of sense of humour. It's subtle and low-key, but he has it. So, he is not altogether a deadly serious guy.

Photograph: Paresh Gandhi