M.S. Sidhu, CEO, Apara Enterprise: One of Wipro's lost leaders

Quick, what's common to companies such as MindTree Consulting, Kshema Technologies, TVA Infotech, e4e Labs, Aztec Software, Fabmart, Tufan Inc, Pramati Technologies, and some 80 others? Answer: They were all founded by people who, at some time or the other, worked for Wipro. Hindustan Lever may be the preferred hunting ground for poachers in search of CEOs, but Wipro's track record in creating entrepreneurs is unique.

Wipro's serene corporate office at Sarjapur in Bangalore belies the entrepreneurial heart beating beneath. The company's low-profile Chairman Azim Premji isn't known for making a song and dance about things but he is (justifiably) proud of what his former employees-he calls them Wipro's best brand ambassadors-have achieved. "Wipro leaders get early general managerial responsibility to get a good rounding. This helps them develop the ability to see the big picture early in their career," says Premji.

So, what is it about Wipro that fosters the spirit of entrepreneurship? Anant Koppar, the 42-year-old CEO of the five-year old start-up Kshema Technologies-one of India's first VC-funded software services company-believes it is simply the multi-hued sunflower's culture. "Wipro empowers people young," he says. "It was this untrammeled freedom that helped me become a first generation entrepreneur." Another Wipro alum, K. Vaitheeswaran, the co-founder of online retailer Fabmart, believes it's the company's willingness to tolerate failure that engenders entrepreneurs. "This allows Wiproites make choices that they wouldn't dream of in a conventional organisation." Not all feedback is positive. "Wipro did not have a culture of sharing wealth," complains one alum, who now heads a Bangalore-based networking company. "Several senior executives left because they were not being given their due; no wonder so many entrepreneurs have come out of Wipro."

Wipro's head of corporate hr, Pratik Kumar, pooh-poohs this claim by pointing out that Wipro was among the first companies in the country to institute a stock option plan for its senior execs (it did, in 1984). "No enterprise has succeeded if its sole motive is personal enrichment; it has to address the needs of customers and stakeholders jointly if it is to succeed," he adds. Kumar's argument is reinforced by the fact that several of Wipro's senior managers-CFO Suresh Senapathy, head of Azim Premji Foundation, Dileep Ranjekar, head of the consumer business, Vineet Agarwal, and head of the enterprise business, Sudip Banerjee, to name a few- have been with the company for some time now.

In an effort to leverage this entrepreneurship to further organisational goals, Wipro has a structured innovation initiative in place. Headed by Anurag Behar, Vice President (Brand Innovation), this provides would-be entrepreneurs with the option of becoming intrapreneurs. Sometimes, that isn't enough to stop people from going out and doing their own thing. "There are some individuals who want to prove to themselves that they can succeed without the Wipro organisation; we wish them well."

If Behar, or anyone else in Wipro, isn't perturbed by this constant erosion, it is because of what Gautam Sinha, the founder of TVA Infotech, an it industry-focused hr consulting firm and a former Wipro employee himself, terms "depth of leadership". "Wipro has systems in place," he says, "that build leaders; and the processes are such that these leaders can be seamlessly replaced if such a need arises." Another alum, M.S. Sidhu, the CEO of Apara Enterprise Solutions-an it infrastructure solutions provider-agrees. "Wipro," he says, "has never suffered from a dearth of talent." Maybe entrepreneurship presents a winning exit option not just for those who leave Wipro, but a great staying on one for those who stay behind.