Wipro Files Case Against Former CFO Jatin Dalal After Move To Cognizant
Wipro has been mired by a senior-level exodus since CEO Thierry Delaporte took the helm in July 2020 and effected restructuring.
Wipro Ltd. has filed a case against former Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal after he joined rival Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. at the same rank.
While the details of the lawsuit are unavailable, the case was first heard by the Bengaluru civil court on Nov. 28, two days before Dalal officially exited the IT services firm, according to the Bengaluru Urban Courts' website.
Dalal has now filed an application in the court to refer the matter for arbitration—the parties can now opt for a private dispute resolution procedure instead of going to court.
A veteran of over two decades at Wipro, Dalal resigned as the CFO on Sept. 21. Cognizant promptly announced his appointment as their CFO a week later. Dalal's last working day at Wipro was Nov. 30. He is awaiting visa formalities to be completed to move to the U.K. or the U.S., according to a report by the Times Of India on Dec. 27.
When contacted, a Wipro spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. An email sent to Cognizant elicited no response at the time of publishing this story.
Wipro has been mired by a senior-level exodus ever since Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte took the helm in July 2020 and effected large-scale restructurings and acquisitions to make the IT company nimbler and competitive. That has not panned out as planned.
Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Trautman put in her papers on Dec. 8 after three years on the job, the 10th senior-level exit so far this year. She was brought in from Accenture Plc to help Wipro win large contracts, but not one big deal was struck during her tenure.
Questions are being raised on Delaporte and his leadership style. According to a Mint report on Dec. 10, founder Azim Premji is said to be displeased with the state of affairs at Wipro, and that's not entirely to do with the company's underperformance over the past six quarters.
NDTV Profit has learned from people aware of the matter that while Delaporte's ouster isn't imminent, everyone internally recognises that performance has been bad.
Things are not looking great operationally, but there is a need to give them some time. There are no candidates as such to replace the Frenchman, a person with knowledge of the matter said on the condition of anonymity. If the need arises, they may prop up another candidate, but this is not going to happen immediately, this person said.
There was also talk of former L&T Infotech CEO Sanjay Jalona being brought in to steady the ship, but Wipro has “categorically and unequivocally” denied all such rumours.
