Part I — The story
The story
Azim Premji was studying at Stanford when his father died suddenly in 1966, and at twenty-one he returned to India to run the family business — then a maker of vegetable oil. Over the following decades he transformed it almost beyond recognition, diversifying and ultimately building Wipro into one of India's largest IT-services companies and a pillar of the industry that reshaped the country's economy. His pivot from cooking oil to software is one of business's great reinventions.
Premji was known, like his peers, for rigorous integrity and frugality, but his most striking legacy is philanthropy: he has pledged and given the vast majority of his wealth — tens of billions of dollars — to his foundation, chiefly for education in India, making him one of the most generous philanthropists in the world. He is a study in radical business reinvention, in integrity as a durable advantage, and in Giving While Living on an extraordinary scale.
Part II — The playbook
The playbook
Reinvent the business entirely
Premji turned a cooking-oil company into an IT giant — radical reinvention.
Make integrity your foundation
He built Wipro on rigorous ethics and frugality.
Give while living, at scale
He pledged the vast majority of his fortune to education.
In their words
If people are not laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.
The journey is more satisfying than the destination.
Those of us who are privileged have a duty to share.
What to read next
- Azim Premji (business profiles) —
Why this matters
The thinking behind these decisions connects to models you can study directly:
Frequently asked questions
How did Azim Premji build Wipro?
He took over a family vegetable-oil business at 21 in 1966 and transformed it almost beyond recognition, diversifying and ultimately building Wipro into one of India's largest IT-services companies — one of business's great reinventions.
What is Premji known for in philanthropy?
Pledging and giving the vast majority of his wealth — tens of billions of dollars — chiefly to education in India through his foundation, making him one of the world's most generous philanthropists.