Vivek Paul
Encyclopedia
Vivek Paul is an Indian-born businessman and founder of Akansa Capital, an India-focused Private Equity Fund. He is also a Consulting Professor of Radiology at Stanford University. Mr. Paul founded KineticGlue, a cloud software company in the enterprise social media space. Prior to Akansa, Paul was most recently a partner at TPG Capital, one of the world’s leading private equity
investment firms. From 1999-2005, he was Vice Chairman of Wipro
and CEO of its global information technology, product engineering, and business process services segments. Paul grew this business from under $150m in revenue to over $1.4b ($3.5b quarterly run rate), with 50,000 employees, and led its listing on the New York Stock Exchange
.
. He did his schooling from St. Columba's School, Delhi|St. Columba's in New Delhi.
Paul began his career working Bain & Company
and PepsiCo
. In 1990 Paul joined General Electric
where he spent 10 years. During his tenure, he ran GE's Global Computerized Tomography business, reporting directly to the current Chairman of GE. Paul also served as the CEO of GE's medical equipment joint venture in India, known as WiproGE, recognized by the Economist as the best joint venture in Asia.
On October 19, 2000, Wipro was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In June 2004, at the annual general meeting, Paul was re-appointed to his position of vice chairman.
The following year, however, in May 2005, Paul began to express 'restlessness' with his position and disclosed that he was evaluating other positions. Shortly after a May 6 offsite event at Goa's Hotel Marriott, Paul began telling colleagues of his intention to leave Wipro. On June 29, he formally put in his papers. The following day, Wipro announced that Paul was leaving and that Dr A L Rao
, would become the chief operating officer.
The following day, the Wipro stock on the Bombay Stock Exchange closed dropped almost 3% on the news of Paul's departure.
firm, TPG Capital, to work in its venture capital
business. He went on to be a Founding Partner of TPG Growth, a fund focussed on growth capital for mid size companies. He resigned from TPG in December 2008.
, the world’s leading game publisher. He has served on the board of Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., a leader in developing chemicals from renewable sources, the California Chamber of Commerce, and on the Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
. He has served as a Strategc Advisor to FPT Corporation, Vietnam’s leading ICT company, and to Amyris Biotechnologies, a leader in biofuels using synthetic biology.
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
investment firms. From 1999-2005, he was Vice Chairman of Wipro
Wipro
Wipro Limited formally Western India Products Limited is a global IT services and consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. As of 2011, Wipro is the second largest IT services company by turnover in India and employs more than 120,000 people worldwide as of March 2011...
and CEO of its global information technology, product engineering, and business process services segments. Paul grew this business from under $150m in revenue to over $1.4b ($3.5b quarterly run rate), with 50,000 employees, and led its listing on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
.
Early career
Paul received Bachelor of Engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani and MBA from University of MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
. He did his schooling from St. Columba's School, Delhi|St. Columba's in New Delhi.
Paul began his career working Bain & Company
Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Bain is considered one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, with 47 offices in 30 countries and over 5,500 professionals on staff globally...
and PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
. In 1990 Paul joined General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
where he spent 10 years. During his tenure, he ran GE's Global Computerized Tomography business, reporting directly to the current Chairman of GE. Paul also served as the CEO of GE's medical equipment joint venture in India, known as WiproGE, recognized by the Economist as the best joint venture in Asia.
Wipro
In 1999, Paul was asked to run Wipro's software unit in India. Wipro was a $150-million company when Vivek Paul took over, and it had all the tendencies of a small, traditional company. Paul has been credited with creating a global business and for much of Wipro's growth into a multibillion dollar company.On October 19, 2000, Wipro was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In June 2004, at the annual general meeting, Paul was re-appointed to his position of vice chairman.
The following year, however, in May 2005, Paul began to express 'restlessness' with his position and disclosed that he was evaluating other positions. Shortly after a May 6 offsite event at Goa's Hotel Marriott, Paul began telling colleagues of his intention to leave Wipro. On June 29, he formally put in his papers. The following day, Wipro announced that Paul was leaving and that Dr A L Rao
Dr A L Rao
Dr A Lakshman Rao is the former Chief Operating Officer of Wipro Technologies. Dr Rao joined Wipro’s Information Technology business as a founder member in 1980 and contributed significantly towards building a R&D team. From 1993 to 1996, he worked as Vice President at Wipro Systems and played an...
, would become the chief operating officer.
The following day, the Wipro stock on the Bombay Stock Exchange closed dropped almost 3% on the news of Paul's departure.
TPG Capital
In June 2005, Paul joined private equityPrivate equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm, TPG Capital, to work in its venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
business. He went on to be a Founding Partner of TPG Growth, a fund focussed on growth capital for mid size companies. He resigned from TPG in December 2008.
Other affiliations
Mr. Paul currently serves on the Board of Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, the world’s leading game publisher. He has served on the board of Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., a leader in developing chemicals from renewable sources, the California Chamber of Commerce, and on the Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states-—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington--plus the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,...
. He has served as a Strategc Advisor to FPT Corporation, Vietnam’s leading ICT company, and to Amyris Biotechnologies, a leader in biofuels using synthetic biology.
Acknowledgments
- Ranked among the best managers in the world by BusinessWeek in 2003
- Among the top global business influentials by Time magazine in 2004
- Among the top 30 most respected global CEOs by Barron's.