Former Accenture Executive Omar Abbosh in race to be Wipro CEO

Former Accenture top executive Omar Abbosh is among the frontrunners for the CEO job at Wipro, according to multiple sources.

Abbosh had a strong relationship with Accenture for 31 years and most recently ran its $9 billion Communication, Media and Technology (CMT) business as Chief Executive. While being in his role, he managed a team of over 1 lakh employees and led some of Accenture’s largest client relationships.

London-based Abbosh was part of Accenture’s global management committee and was its Chief Strategy Officer for three years. In Accenture, he has managed its security business, the Dublin Centre for Innovation, and the ventures & acquisitions business.

He was instrumental in growing the BT business, which is now close to $1 billion, as also Vodafone, and France Telecom (now Orange) accounts.

The department of Abbosh from Accenture was announced in November. If Abbosh secures the top job, he would be Wipro’s and indeed Indian IT’s – first non-Indian CEO.

Bhaskar Ghosh, Advisor to Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, and Infosys’s Deputy COO Ravi Kumar are also too in the race for the Wipro post. There has been speculation that Sandeep Dadlani, Chief Digital Officer at Mars and former top executive at Infosys, is also being considered. Milan Rao, President at Wipro, also who heads the Marketing, Innovation and Technology team, too is seen as a contender.

Wipro’s top position opened up when CEO Abidali Neemuchwala announced his decision to step down on January 31, a year before his five-year term was to come to an end.

“Abbosh is a highly respected Accenture strategist who was in the frame for the CEO role. If Wipro secures his appointment, this would mark an impressive win for the firm and a new direction in terms of vision and roadmap,” says Phil Fersht, CEO of US-based HfS Research.