Srinivas Pallia

Srinivas Pallia
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Wipro Limited
Title	Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Employer	Wipro Limited
Known for	CEO 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, becoming one of the key leaders in the Indian IT industry at a time of significant transformation driven by artificial intelligence and shifting global trade dynamics. Pallia's career at Wipro has spanned decades, making him a notable example of a "campus to corner office" trajectory within the company. During his first full financial year as CEO (FY25), Wipro reported a profit surge, and Pallia earned a total compensation of approximately $6.2 million (about ₹53.4 crore). His leadership has been endorsed by Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji, who stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026 that Wipro is "doing the right things" under Pallia's stewardship.

Career

Rise Within Wipro

Srinivas Pallia built his career within Wipro Limited over an extended period, rising through the ranks of the organization. His long tenure at the company led observers to characterize his ascent as a "campus to corner office" story, indicating that he joined the company early in his professional life and progressed through various leadership positions to ultimately lead the entire organization. Prior to his appointment as CEO and Managing Director, Pallia held senior roles within Wipro's business operations, gaining experience across the company's various service lines and client engagements.

Appointment as CEO and Managing Director

On 7 April 2024, Srinivas Pallia officially assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Wipro Limited. His appointment came at a critical juncture for the company, which, like many of its peers in the Indian IT services industry, was navigating a period of macroeconomic uncertainty, cautious client spending, and rapid technological change driven by the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. The transition in leadership placed Pallia at the helm of one of India's most prominent IT services firms, tasked with steering the company through these complex dynamics and positioning it for sustained growth.

First Year as CEO (FY25)

Pallia's first full financial year as CEO, covering the period from April 2024 to March 2025 (FY25), was marked by both progress and ongoing challenges. The company reported a profit surge during this period, suggesting improvements in operational efficiency and margin management under his leadership. However, industry analysts noted that while Pallia had steered Wipro on a steady course, the broader turnaround journey for the company was not yet complete. A review published by Moneycontrol in April 2025, marking one year since his appointment, observed that Pallia had provided stable leadership but acknowledged that further work remained to restore Wipro to robust and consistent growth.

During FY25, Pallia's total compensation amounted to approximately $6.2 million (about ₹53.4 crore), representing a roughly twofold increase compared to his prior compensation levels. This package reflected the expanded scope of his responsibilities as CEO and MD. Both Pallia and Wipro 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 part of their compensation structure. Despite the significant increase in Premji's own compensation during the same period, Pallia's total pay package remained higher than that of the Executive Chairman.

AI Strategy and Deal Momentum

A central element of Pallia's strategic direction for Wipro has been the integration of artificial intelligence into the company's service offerings and client solutions. This strategic emphasis began to yield measurable results in the first quarter of FY26 (April–June 2025), when Wipro reported a total deal book of $5 billion. This figure represented a significant level of new business bookings, driven in part by the company's AI-related capabilities and service offerings. Fortune India reported that Pallia's "AI play" was beginning to pay off, noting the scale of deal wins despite a slight decline in overall revenue during the same quarter.

The $5 billion deal book figure in Q1 FY26 was a notable data point, as it suggested that Wipro was gaining traction in winning new contracts and renewals, even as the broader IT services market remained mixed. The slight revenue decline reported alongside the strong deal bookings indicated that while the pipeline of future work was building, the translation of these deals into immediate revenue was still underway—a common dynamic in the IT services industry where large deals often involve ramp-up periods before generating full revenue streams.

Navigating Global Trade Uncertainty

By the second quarter of FY26 (October 2025), Pallia publicly addressed the impact of global trade policy changes on Wipro's client base. In comments reported by Moneycontrol, he noted that tariff uncertainties were prompting clients to rethink their supply chains. Pallia observed that global clients were becoming "increasingly cautious" amid changing trade policies, a dynamic that had implications for IT spending decisions and the pace at which companies were willing to commit to new technology investments and digital transformation programs.

These remarks placed Pallia among a cohort of Indian IT industry leaders who were publicly acknowledging the complex macroeconomic environment facing the sector. The shifting trade landscape, including new tariff regimes and evolving geopolitical considerations, added an additional layer of uncertainty to an industry already adapting to the disruptive potential of generative AI. Pallia's comments suggested a leadership approach that emphasized transparency about external headwinds while continuing to pursue growth through strategic investments in AI and other emerging technologies.

Endorsement from Wipro Leadership

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2026, Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji offered a public endorsement of Pallia's leadership. Premji stated that the company was "on the right track" under Pallia and expressed confidence in the direction the CEO was taking the organization. This public statement of support from the scion of the Premji family, which holds a controlling stake in Wipro, was seen as a significant vote of confidence in Pallia's stewardship, particularly given that Wipro had undergone leadership transitions and strategic pivots in the years preceding his appointment.

Premji's comments at Davos underscored the alignment between Wipro's board-level leadership and its executive management under Pallia. The endorsement came approximately 21 months into Pallia's tenure as CEO, at a time when the company was demonstrating strong deal momentum but continued to face questions about the pace of its revenue growth recovery relative to larger competitors in the Indian IT services space.

Compensation

In his first full financial year as CEO and Managing Director (FY25, covering April 2024 to March 2025), Srinivas Pallia earned a total compensation of approximately $6.2 million, equivalent to about ₹53.4 crore. This represented a significant increase—roughly double—compared to his compensation in the prior period, reflecting his elevation to the top executive role at the company.

The compensation structure included a commission component tied to the company's financial performance. Both Pallia and Executive Chairman Rishad Premji were entitled to a commission at the rate of 0.35% on incremental consolidated net profits of Wipro. Notably, despite a doubling of Premji's own pay during FY25, Pallia's total compensation exceeded that of the Executive Chairman, consistent with the CEO and MD role carrying the primary operational and strategic leadership responsibilities of the company.

The increase in Pallia's compensation during FY25 coincided with a profit surge reported by Wipro for the same period, suggesting that performance-linked components of his pay package contributed to the overall increase. The compensation figures attracted media attention in the context of broader discussions about executive pay in the Indian IT industry, with multiple outlets reporting on the details of both Pallia's and Premji's remuneration packages.

Leadership Style and Strategic Approach

Based on his public statements and the assessments of industry observers, Pallia's leadership approach at Wipro has been characterized by a focus on operational stability, strategic investment in artificial intelligence, and measured communication about market conditions. His acknowledgment of tariff-related uncertainties affecting client behavior demonstrated a willingness to address external challenges directly in public forums.

The emphasis on AI as a strategic growth driver under Pallia's leadership became a defining feature of his early tenure. The $5 billion deal book reported in Q1 FY26 was framed by industry observers as evidence that this strategic focus was gaining commercial traction, even as the company continued to work through the process of converting deal wins into sustained revenue growth.

The characterization of Pallia as a "campus to corner office" leader suggested a leadership profile rooted in deep institutional knowledge of Wipro's culture, operations, and client relationships, rather than one shaped primarily by external industry experience or turnaround expertise. This internal pedigree was viewed as both a strength—given his familiarity with the organization—and a subject of scrutiny, as observers monitored whether his approach would be sufficient to drive the pace of change needed to compete effectively in a rapidly evolving market.

Industry analysts noted after his first year that while Pallia had successfully stabilized Wipro's operations and maintained steady performance, the broader turnaround journey for the company was not yet complete. This assessment reflected both the significant progress made under his leadership and the recognition that Wipro's competitive positioning relative to its larger Indian IT peers continued to be a work in progress.