Johannesburg, South Africa, - November 27, 2015:
Wipro Limited. (NYSE:WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), a leading business school in South Africa, announced the successful completion of the first edition of the 'Future CIO' learning programme. In a graduation ceremony held recently, 19 graduates were presented with certificates marking the completion of the six month-long programme.
The 'Future CIO' programme, a joint initiative by GIBS and Wipro, was launched with the objective of developing and honing talent for global technology leadership roles. The programme, which commenced in June this year, comprised of three modules. The first module on 'Enterprise Leadership' was conducted at the GIBS campus in Johannesburg in the month of August over four days.
As part of the second module, the candidates travelled to India in October for five days, where they received in-depth theoretical and hands-on training on global leadership skills and technology themes. They were also introduced to a traditional yet ingenious business practice such as 'Dabbawallahs', a highly effective logistical system to deliver lunch boxes from the suburban areas to the office workers in Mumbai. There are approximately 4000 delivery boys who deliver over 1,60000 home cooked lunches from the suburban homes, to the employees working in the city in a highly precise and efficient manner.
The third module on 'Functional Leadership' was conducted over four days at the GIBS campus in November. During this programme, the candidates were exposed to subjects such as 'disruptive technologies', 'barriers to innovative thinking' and 'innovating for a future market', by some of the brightest business and technology minds across the globe.
Gavin Holme, Country Manager, Africa, Wipro Limited said, "As we move rapidly into an era of digital transformation, the role of a CIO has become vital to a company's strategy and performance. There is a need for CIOs to have an understanding of an array of advanced and robust digital technologies while crafting an organisation's technology estate. The curriculum for the 'Future CIO' programme, jointly developed by Wipro and GIBS was designed to cultivate leadership and give the candidates an understanding of key technology themes that are of importance in the new digital economy."
Amantha Naidoo, IT Director at Imperial Health Sciences and one among the 19 candidates of the Future CIO programme said, "This programme has been an enriching experience that has provided me with an opportunity to work with like-minded individuals and future industry leaders. The inspiring sessions of the curriculum made me realise that each one of us can make a significant contribution to our companies by determining the right technology strategy for the organization."
"Our programme enabled both GIBS and Wipro to impart relevant skills, knowledge and insight to the candidates, preparing them to convert this new knowledge into applicable strategy," adds Abdullah Verachia, GIBS faculty lead on this programme. "More importantly, this programme combined in-depth theoretical training with practical exposure to business leaders from leading global organisations, thereby providing a complete learning experience for the candidates."
Criteria for selection of the candidates into this programme included strong recommendations from the CEO or Board member of their respective organizations, recommendation from their managers, work experience of the candidate as well as the candidate's goals.
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." By combining digital strategy, customer centric design, advanced analytics and product engineering approach, Wipro helps its clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has a dedicated workforce of over 160,000, 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 South 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 the only business school in Africa to appear in this ranking.
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 110616500
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.
