A Tale of 2 CEOs - Wipro

Well, the tale is just beginning and it will take some time to see how it turns out. Wipro, which has always been showcasing different management stories and strategies has embarked on a 2-CEO model now. After Vivek Paul was summarily fired (though he is supposed to have left on his own), Wipro is experimenting with the new model. The 2 CEOs are from Wipro's school and have spent decades there. Premji continues to be the Chairman of this organization. Wharton calls this arrangement collegiate - where Premji is the Principal. The 2 CEOs - Vaswani & Pranjpe - themselves are gung-ho about this.

Says Vaswani: "Given the size of our business and the ambitions that we have for our business, two is certainly better than one. We do believe that the power of two will help us so far as we are concerned, given our environment." Adds Paranjpe: "Given the enormity of the opportunity and the task at hand, we felt it was worthwhile to have two of us trying to drive this rather than leave it to one individual to try and do [everything]. And from a personal perspective, it can get very lonely at the top. So, having two people helps."

The twin arrangement didnt work out well for several companies - like Unilever for example. But then one cant take them blindly to compare. The business models, cultural climates etc., are totally different here and Premji might just be able to pull it off.

Immaterial of what happens, it will be an interesting management lesson. Am wondering, by the way, is the CEO salary split between these two? Or each of them draws a CEO salary?? Well, it is Wirpo stockholder money and Premji owns 70%+ of it - so he will be careful is my guess..

For the record, Sidney Carton did die at the end of The Tale.