The fourth-largest Indian IT services giant, Wipro’s (WIPR.NS) shares fell about 3% on Friday, a day after longtime CFO Jatin Dalal abruptly announced his resignation.
As Wipro navigates a lengthy business turnaround, Dalal’s departure follows those of Chief Operating Officer Sanjeev Singh and numerous senior vice presidents.
Analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities stated in a report, “Investors will not be viewed favorably by the loss of key leaders continuing into the fourth year of turnaround.”
After more than two decades with the company, Dalal said on Thursday that he was leaving to seek other opportunities. Aparna Iyer, who the company’s cloud services division most recently employed, will take Dalal’s position.
Yes, there is a lot of churn in the Indian tech sector. Rajesh Gopinathan, the CEO of renowned Indian IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS), resigned in March, while senior Infosys (INFY.NS) executive Mohit Joshi is about to become the CEO of Tech Mahindra. In January, S Ravi Kumar, a former Infosys president, was appointed CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH.O).
However, analysts express concern about Wipro’s actions, noting that the company is “struggling in its turnaround effort, has a weak mega deal pipeline, and is vulnerable to vendor consolidation.”
In addition to issues about deal close delays, order rampdowns, and cancellations, IT firms are also in a precarious position due to resurgent anxieties about a high-interest rate environment in the United States.
Due to clients’ reduced spending, Wipro has previously predicted that IT services revenue will remain steady for the current quarter.
Following the announcement of the new CFO on Thursday, company shares fell to a level not seen in almost three weeks. So far, they have gained 7% this year, falling short of the 15% increase in the Nifty IT index (.NIFTYIT).