Johannesburg, South Africa and Bangalore, India - August 20, 2015:
The programme aims to impart leadership skills and knowledge to enable executives to lead their organisations into the future
Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company and Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), a leading business school in South Africa, today announced the commencement of the first module of the 'Future CIO' Programme. The first leg of the programme 'kicked off' on 17 August, where the 19 candidates began a four day Strategic Thinking module at the GIBS campus in Illovo, Johannesburg.
Wipro and GIBS have come together to create the 'Future CIO' programme, which aims to build future technology leaders. The programme comprises of three modules, and is spread over a period of six months. The first module's objective is to develop the candidates' ability to learn and understand the global technology environment and then develop the ability to craft strategies for their organizations. In addition to this, the candidates will also be introduced to project topics that will drive them to think innovatively to build products and solutions that support and meet the current and future needs of businesses.
The unique selling point of this programme is that the nominations for candidates come directly from the CEOs/CIO's and boards of their respective organisations, across industry sectors, in South Africa. The candidates are further shortlisted by a panel of experts.
"The first module of the programme that covers Strategic Thinking leadership is delivered on campus, facilitated by leading lecturers at GIBS. Lead integrator at GIBS, Abdullah Verachia, will assist the candidates to understand the overall strategic vision and approach that is required along with CIO leadership skills, to successfully lead their organizations into the future," explains Nishen Munnisunker, Director Executive Education Open Programmes at the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Leading lecturers at GIBS such as Dr Adrian Saville, Director of Canon Asset Managers, Technology entrepreneur Stafford Masie, coach and facilitator Amy Moore, strategist Dr Jeff Chen, SA leadership Faculty Anthony Prangley and Noxolo Kubheka, CIO and Head of Transnet Capital Projects will provide insights and pass on critical knowledge to these candidates.
After the completion of the first module, the candidates will travel to India in October 2015 for five days as a part of the second module, where they will receive in-depth theoretical and hands-on training on global leadership skills and technology themes by a multitude of technology companies including Wipro Limited. The third and final module on Functional Leadership will be conducted over four days at the GIBS campus in November 2015.
"The participants of the programme will gain access to experts, who are thought leaders in their respective fields. They will benefit immensely from exposure to high-level problem solving and strategic thinking, which will encourage and nurture innovative thinking in a real-world global business context," said Naveen Rajdev, Chief Marketing Officer, Wipro Limited.
About Wipro Ltd.
Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Business Process Services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation, and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of over 150,000, serving clients in 175+ cities across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com
About GIBS
Founded in 2000, GIBS is an internationally accredited business school based in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub. As the “business school for business”, GIBS’ purpose is to significantly improve the performance of individuals and organisations through business education in dynamic markets. Consistently rated as one of the top business schools in Africa, in May 2014 GIBS was again ranked among the top business schools globally by the Financial Times in Africa for executive education programmes. This is the eleventh year running that GIBS has been ranked among the top business schools worldwide. In October 2014 the GIBS MBA was ranked among the top 100 business schools globally in the prestigious Financial Times Executive MBA Rankings.
GIBS is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and is a member of the South African Business Schools Association (SABSA), the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) and the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS).
Media Contacts:
Olwin Kleve
Wipro Limited, South Africa
+27 11 061 6500
olwin.kleve@wipro.com
GIBS
Nishen Munnisunker
Director - Executive Education Open Programmes
+27 11 771 4000
Munnisunkern@gibs.co.za
Wipro's Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
