Srinivas Pallia

Srinivas Pallia
Born	Srinivas Pallia
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Template:Hlist
Title	Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Employer	Wipro Limited
Known for	CEO and Managing Director of Wipro Limited

Srinivas Pallia is an Indian business executive who serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Wipro Limited, one of India's largest information technology (IT) services companies. He assumed the role on 7 April 2024, succeeding Thierry Delaporte as the head of the Bengaluru-headquartered firm. Pallia's career trajectory at Wipro has been described as a "campus to corner office" journey, having spent the entirety of his professional life at the company before rising to its top leadership position. Under his leadership, Wipro has pursued a strategy centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and large deal acquisitions, recording a $5 billion deal book in the first quarter of financial year 2026 (FY26). In FY25, his first full year as CEO, Pallia earned a total compensation of approximately $6.2 million (about ₹53.4 crore).

Career

Long tenure at Wipro

Srinivas Pallia has spent his entire career at Wipro, joining the company at the start of his professional life and rising through its ranks over the course of several decades. His progression from an entry-level position to the chief executive office has been characterized as a "campus to corner office" story, underscoring the depth of institutional experience he brought to the top role. Over the years, Pallia held various leadership positions within Wipro, gaining experience across the company's business units, client relationships, and technology verticals before being appointed to the company's most senior executive position.

Appointment as CEO and Managing Director

On 7 April 2024, Srinivas Pallia formally assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Wipro Limited. His appointment came at a time when Wipro, like much of the Indian IT services industry, faced a challenging demand environment characterized by cautious client spending, macroeconomic uncertainty, and the accelerating impact of emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. Pallia succeeded Thierry Delaporte, who had led the company since 2020.

The transition was overseen by Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji, who publicly expressed confidence in Pallia's leadership. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026, Premji stated that Wipro was "doing the right things" under Pallia and that the company was on the right track.

First year as CEO (FY25)

Pallia's first full financial year as CEO—FY25, covering April 2024 to March 2025—was marked by efforts to stabilize Wipro's business operations and position the company for renewed growth. Assessments of his first year in office noted that while Pallia had steered the company steadily, the broader turnaround journey for Wipro was not yet complete. The company navigated a period in which global IT spending remained uneven, with clients in key markets exercising caution over discretionary technology investments.

Despite the challenging environment, Wipro reported a profit surge during FY25, reflecting Pallia's focus on operational efficiency and cost management. Pallia's compensation for FY25 totaled approximately $6.2 million (about ₹53.4 crore), representing a roughly twofold increase compared to his prior compensation, a figure that reflected both his elevated role and the company's performance metrics for the year. Both Pallia and Executive Chairman Rishad Premji were also entitled to a commission at the rate of 0.35% on incremental consolidated net profits of the company, as disclosed in Wipro's annual filings.

AI strategy and deal momentum

A central pillar of Pallia's leadership strategy has been the acceleration of Wipro's artificial intelligence capabilities and the integration of AI-driven solutions into the company's client offerings. Under his direction, Wipro invested in building AI-centric service platforms and positioned the technology as a core differentiator in its sales approach. This strategy appeared to gain traction in the first quarter of FY26 (April–June 2025), when Wipro reported a deal book valued at $5 billion, a figure that underscored the company's success in winning large-scale client engagements despite a slight decline in overall revenue for the quarter. Fortune India characterized the result as evidence that "CEO Srinivas Pallia's AI play begins to pay off," pointing to the size and composition of the deal pipeline as an indicator of improved competitiveness.

Pallia's AI-focused approach aligned with broader industry trends, as global enterprises across sectors increasingly sought to deploy generative AI and machine learning technologies. By framing Wipro's service portfolio around these capabilities, Pallia aimed to address what he identified as a structural shift in client demand—from traditional outsourcing arrangements toward more technology-led transformation engagements.

Navigating macroeconomic and trade headwinds

In addition to technology strategy, Pallia's tenure has been shaped by his response to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty affecting the global IT services market. In October 2025, speaking in the context of Wipro's quarterly earnings, Pallia noted that tariff uncertainties were prompting clients to rethink their supply chains and approach technology spending more cautiously. He observed that global clients were "becoming increasingly cautious amid changing trade policies," suggesting that the broader environment required Wipro to maintain flexibility in its go-to-market approach while continuing to pursue large deal wins.

These comments reflected a theme that ran throughout Pallia's first 18 months at the helm: the need to balance short-term demand softness with longer-term strategic positioning. Analysts and industry observers noted that while Wipro's revenue trajectory had not yet returned to robust growth, the company's deal pipeline and AI investments provided a foundation for potential improvement in subsequent quarters.

Relationship with Wipro leadership

As CEO and Managing Director, Pallia works closely with Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji, the son of Wipro founder Azim Premji. The governance structure at Wipro separates the roles of executive chairman and CEO, with Premji responsible for overall strategic direction and board governance and Pallia overseeing day-to-day operations and business execution. Premji has publicly affirmed his support for Pallia on multiple occasions. At the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos in January 2026, Premji stated that Wipro was "doing the right things" under Pallia's leadership and expressed confidence in the direction of the company. The public endorsement was seen as significant given the scale of the leadership transition and the competitive pressures facing the Indian IT industry at the time.

Compensation

For FY25, his first complete financial year in the role, Srinivas Pallia received total compensation of approximately $6.2 million, equivalent to about ₹53.4 crore at the prevailing exchange rate. This represented a roughly twofold increase over his prior-year compensation, reflecting the change in his role from a senior executive to the CEO and Managing Director.

The compensation structure included a base salary, performance-linked bonuses, and other benefits. Both Pallia and Executive Chairman Rishad Premji were entitled to a commission at the rate of 0.35% on incremental consolidated net profits of the company, as disclosed in Wipro's statutory filings. The compensation figures attracted media attention, with several publications comparing Pallia's earnings to those of Premji, whose own pay approximately doubled during the same period but remained lower than the CEO's total package.

Multiple outlets noted that the compensation increase coincided with a period of profit growth at Wipro, suggesting that the performance-linked components of Pallia's pay had been favorably impacted by the company's financial results during FY25.

Leadership style and strategic priorities

Reports on Pallia's leadership have characterized his approach as steady and operationally focused. In its assessment of his first year as CEO, Moneycontrol described him as having steered Wipro on a stable path while acknowledging that the company's turnaround journey was still underway. His background as a career-long Wipro employee was cited as a source of institutional knowledge and continuity, while also raising questions about the pace of transformation compared to external leadership appointments made by some industry peers.

Pallia's stated strategic priorities have included:

• Artificial intelligence: Positioning AI as a central element of Wipro's service offerings, with a focus on both generative AI applications and the broader modernization of client technology environments.
• Large deal wins: Pursuing sizeable multi-year contracts to provide revenue visibility and demonstrate competitive differentiation, as evidenced by the $5 billion deal book reported in Q1 FY26.
• Client engagement amid uncertainty: Maintaining close relationships with global clients navigating tariff-related and macroeconomic uncertainty, helping them rethink supply chains and optimize technology spending.
• Operational efficiency: Driving improvements in margins and profitability through cost management and delivery excellence, contributing to the profit surge reported during FY25.

Recognition

Since assuming the role of CEO and Managing Director of Wipro, Pallia has received public endorsement from the company's Executive Chairman, Rishad Premji. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026, Premji stated that Wipro was "on the right track" under Pallia and that the company was "doing the right things," a statement that was widely reported in Indian business media.

Industry coverage of Pallia's first year at the helm has been mixed but generally acknowledged his stabilizing influence on the company. Moneycontrol characterized his trajectory as a notable "campus to corner office" narrative, highlighting the rarity of a career-long employee ascending to the top position at a company of Wipro's scale within the Indian IT services industry. Fortune India credited Pallia's AI-focused strategy with beginning to deliver tangible results in the form of a strengthened deal pipeline.