 Rishad Prenji, the eldest son of Azim Prenji, took over as Vipro chairman on July 31. In June, Vipro had announced that its board has approved its appointment as executive chairman of the company. Rishad takes the reins of the empire that started off as a cooking-coil company and is today one of the leading global software services. Azim Prenji, who headed Vipro for 53 years, will now be its non-executive director. Rishad has been so far overseeing corporate strategy which includes mergers and acquisitions, Vipro ventures and relations with investors and the government. An MBA from Harvard Business School, Rishad studied economics at Wesleyan University. In 2014, he was recognized as a young global leader by the World Economic Forum for his outstanding leadership, professional accomplishments and commitment to society. Rishad worked briefly with Bain & Company in London working on assignments across consumer products, automobiles, telecom and insurance. He also had a stint with GE Capital in the US across. Rishad, like his father, takes keen interest in philanthropy. He is on the boards of the Azim Prenji Foundation and Azim Prenji Philanthropic Initiatives. Rishad has also served as a chairman of the Industry Body, National Association of Software and Services Communities in 2018-19. The new Vipro chief is credited with setting up $100 million Vipro ventures in 2015 that has so far invested $65 million in 18 startups and has helped the parent company in more than 100 deals. He is also on the board of Vipro Enterprises Limited and Vipro GE.