One gets to see Wipro?s CEO TK Kurien in mostly black, white or navy blue suits. He does not come across as a guy who wants to wear a beige linen suit to work, and his way of working reflects his taste of colours. Employees are either good or worthless?there can?t be too much of a gray area. The man has a clear opinion on the value that a person brings to the table and is ready to communicate that feeling openly. On Wednesday, soon after declaring the company results, he told FE, ?Those who can?t fit into the new work culture at Wipro, don?t have any place here.?
People close to him say that Kurien likes to view life in numbers. He prefers to see data. Those who love the gut instinct, may use the lavatory. Being a chartered accountant, it?s not difficult to see why he is so. His bosses always loved him for his drive and direction, but his subordinates usually heave a big sigh of relief when he walks out the room. A consensus-led approach is not his strong point and he makes no bones about it. Kurien knows his clock is ticking fast at Wipro, and has no time to lose.
Wipro-ites say that getting into a lift with him can be an experience in itself. The two-minute conversation can veer towards any direction, and one has to be careful about the choice of words. The questions can be about the nature of the project, delivery and the size of the team. On a bad day, things can go wrong in the lift and the employee may regret his timing.
The fact is you may like or dislike him, but what Kurien does at Wipro over the next few quarters will be very crucial for the company. At Wipro, there is always the silent presence of Azim Premji and any CEO who takes up the hot seat knows he has a task at hand. People who know Wipro well say that Kurien has always impressed Premji. Be it his role as the BPO head or his role as the eco-energy business head, Kurien has always surpassed the chairman?s expectations. He is also a former GE man, a company that Premji always admired.
So when the dual CEO model was ripped down at Wipro, it was natural that Kurien was one of the front runners for the post. The joint CEOs?Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe?were great strategists and executioners themselves. It just so happened that they got a bit stuck with the years of global downturn.
Premji was not a happy man as many of Wipro?s peers outperformed the company in the crucial banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical soon after the downturn. He pulled the trigger and thought of Kurien as an effective replacement. Being a no-frills CEO, he immediately got down to the task of identifying those who would put in the hard yards. He also looked out for those who were a little slow off the blocks.
On Wednesday afternoon after declaring the earnings, he met me after a quick chat with Azim Premji. ?The middle management has often slowed down the company,? he says. ?So I am encouraging my employees to write to me often. Every day I get 20-30 emails and I respond to them within 24 hours.? The fact is many of the mid-level managers have left Wipro after Kurien took over. The heat in the kitchen has been too much for some.
To give Kurien credit, his ways are beginning to show results. After some really disappointing quarters, Wipro is back in the park. Though its first quarter guidance was nothing to write home about, at least it is beginning to meet its forecasts. ?Wipro is still a work in progress. There is so much to do still,? says Kurien.
There is quite a lot to be done, for sure. BFSI still is not one of its strong points. Kurien may say it is not very good to depend on just one sector, but there is no denying that the vertical is still crucial for fast paced growth. Kurien?s bets are more on healthcare and analytics. Its weak consulting capabilities are a worry, but he does not believe that the same can be an enormous growth driver.
His judgment was that earlier the business was not working in sync. Today, he says, his teams have been realigned and people are working with great purpose. ?But the real change has to happen now. There has to be a change in the work culture. The tough part of the job starts now,? he says, winding up the conversation.
With this man, change is a constant. If you want status quo, Wipro may not be the right place to hang on to.